02/19/2008
Colorado Bully May Be First to Be Sued Under New Hate Crime Law
Another ugly story of bullying, this time out of Colorado, where a new hate crime law may make this kid's teen attacker the first to be sued for punitive damages.
"...for two years, Adrian kept a secret from every adult he knew, even his father: The verbal abuse he says was heaped on him from other students. Bullies called him 'Nazi,' because he is from Germany, and 'gay,' because he is a musical-theater prodigy who stars in professional plays. And despite what Cherry Creek Schools calls a proactive effort to curb bullying, including classroom discussions, plenty of kids knew Adrian was a target and nearly a dozen watched him get beaten up at a school-bus stop in November. Adrian had bruises and a broken collarbone. 'They didn't lift a finger to help him,' Heinz Ulm said of his 14-year- old son. 'I can't understand that.' His attacker won't face criminal charges, because Adrian voluntarily took part in the fight, the Ulms were told. But a 2-year-old amendment to Colorado's hate-crime laws could make Adrian's assailant the first youth in Colorado to be sued for punitive damages on the basis of school bullying. 'I would definitely describe this as a hate crime,' said Adrian's lawyer, Gregg McReynolds, who has not made a decision about a suit."
Please don't wait until the bully returns to shoot him in the head. Sue 'em.
Cherry Creek teen may face bully in court [denver post]
Posted 3:15 PM EST by Andy Towle in Bullying, Colorado, Crime, News | Permalink
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I'm glad he had the gumption to stand up and fight back! This is not to condone violence or anything, but having grown up in Brooklyn and being taunted and called a sissy by boys and girls as well, my father, who was a professional boxer had had enough and taught me how to box.
And I'm sorry, but I'm eternally grateful to him for teaching how to defend myself, as it not too long after I "waxed" a few of my biggest tormentors (It's always more effective to lick the ones who are the biggest!, the harassment stopped.
And I NEVER used my fighting skills to pick on or harass others who were smaller or weaker that I was.
So I say BRAVO to Adrian!
Posted by: banjiboi | Feb 19, 2008 3:43:29 PM
I meant to say "and having been tormented"
Posted by: banjiboi | Feb 19, 2008 3:48:51 PM
My heart goes out to Adrian. No one should hav to take any amount of abuse like this. The problem is that the Bully's parents probably are the same way - bigots. The bully learned it from home.
Posted by: FernLaPlante | Feb 19, 2008 4:15:01 PM
If you can't bleed 'em dry in the schoolyard, bleed 'em dry in the courtroom.
Posted by: Wes | Feb 19, 2008 4:29:40 PM
Last year I told the story here of a German family from church and the horrific way their son was being bullied at school. He too was being called a Nazi and gay (because he's exceptionally bright).
Reading this story literally makes me sick. It is identical to the story of my friend.
I suggest the family contact Lambda Legal. They were helpful to my friend's family giving them advice and offering to represent them free of charge if the school didn't take action to remedy the situation.
The situation was in fact remedied and the kid is doing very well in school this year.
Posted by: Zeke | Feb 19, 2008 4:33:03 PM
Looks like the Americans are the modern day Nazis... both in Colorado and in Iraq!
Posted by: dancobbb@aol.com | Feb 19, 2008 5:07:41 PM
Jeebus…
The continual "bygones" argument surrounding bullies is total bullshit.
Classroom discussions do not cut it. Discussions only encourage the bullies because they know that one of their targets complained about them.
Posted by: Tread | Feb 19, 2008 5:16:31 PM
By "taking part in the fight", do they mean tried to defend himself? Just Ridiculous. People shold learn how to control their kids or pay a severe price.
Posted by: ousslander | Feb 20, 2008 8:02:38 AM
Friday afternoon, Feb. 22nd. Sen. Clinton just released this statement:
“I was deeply saddened by the recent death of 15-year-old Lawrence King who was killed at his school in Oxnard, CA. No one should face intimidation or violence, particularly at school, because of their sexual orientation or the way they express their gender identity.
We must finally enact a federal hate crimes law to ensure that gay, lesbian and transgender Americans are protected against violent, bias-motivated crimes. We must send a unified message that hate-based crime will not be tolerated.”
Paging Sen. Obama. Sen. Obama, white courtesy phone. What? Elvis has left the building? Nevermind.
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Feb 22, 2008 7:32:45 PM
Hoffentlich ist Adrian wieder ganz gesund.
Herzliche Gruesse aus Germany.
Bf Haspelmoor wird umgebaut. Siehe FLICKR.COM Bahnhof Haspelmoor
Servus euch beiden - Ludwig
Posted by: Eiban Ludwig | May 13, 2009 4:33:12 PM