Chrissy Lee Polis, the transgender woman brutally beaten by two teens in a Baltimore, Maryland area McDonald’s one week ago, says the attack was definitely a hate crime, and adds she will sue McDonald’s and the McDonald’s employees who stood by, according to reports. The employees were momentarily filmed watching and laughing in a three-minute video, as two teens brutally beat and battered her into a seizure last Monday.
READ: “In First Interview Since McDonald’s Attack, Transgender Woman Speaks“
Polis tells The Baltimore Sun, the violent attack, which the McDonald’s employees did nothing to stop, is â€definitely a hate crime.†Polis, who was kicked in the head repeatedly, and dragged across the floor by the two teenaged assailants, who stopped, left, and returned several times, was literally dragged from the back of the restaurant almost all the way to the front door by the two female teens.
Polis also said, “They really hurt me really bad,†and added, “I’m just afraid to go outside now because of stuff like this.”
Some have questioned whether the attack on Chrissy Lee Polis was a hate crime, noting that the audio from the cell phone camera video does not seem to include anti-gay or anti-transgender slurs or other derogatory language, but Polis says the two teens spit on her face when they realized she was a transgender woman.
READ: “Hate Crime: Young Transgender Woman Beaten Into Seizure At McDonald’s (Video)“
A Baltimore Sun editorial dated Monday, “Whether a hate crime or not, community must support victim of McDonald’s beating,” states, “Until more of the facts are known, it is impossible to say for certain whether the beating of Chrissy Lee Polis in a Rosedale McDonald’s was motivated by her sexual identity,” cautiously emphasizes this question, adding, “Baltimore County officials so far don’t seem to understand that their community is now being held up worldwide as home of bigotry.”
Stating, “this incident should prompt the General Assembly to revisit its failure this year to pass a transgender anti-discrimination law. Although it would not have changed how this incident unfolded or how it will be handled in the criminal justice system, such a statute would make clear that there is nothing wrong or strange about transgender people and that they should be treated the same as everyone else,” the Sun’s editorial board could have pounded this point home more.
The Maryland Senate, by killing the bill, sent Maryland citizens a strong, false message that transgender people aren’t worthy of equality or respect. They need to repair this damage.
There should be no question to anyone watching the video, and reading surrounding comments by those involved, including the cameraman, that this was a hate crime and should be prosecuted as such.
There is a rally Monday night at the McDonald’s where Polis, 22, was beaten.
The employee who filmed the attack is no longer employed by the McDonald’s franchisee.