Living Out Loud with Darian

This is why I look cross-eyed at people who say being gay is a choice.

In Orlando 25 year old Aundre Jermaine Hill(pictured above) was arrested last weekend on child abuse charges for beating a 7 year old boy with a belt when he discovered the child had applied pink finger nail polish on his nails. The child's mother discovered markings on his body as she was giving him a bath. Investigators said it appeared the boy was beaten on his buttocks, arms, temple, and legs.

In Atlanta Torry Reid, a black lesbian believes she was the victim of anti-gay police brutality due to her masculine appearance when she and her partner Elizabeth Toledo were pulled over in August 2005 by Dekalb County police officer Derrick Asberry. It wasn’t until after her teeth were damaged and her face began to swell that Reid said she was told that she had been driving without her taillights on.

He thought [Reid] was a man at first,” Toledo said of Asberry initially stopping the car. “But when he saw it was a lesbian, his whole attitude seemed to change. It was like, he was going to prove a point.”

“I don’t think I actually ever even imagined in my wildest dreams that someone would assault me [for being gay], and certainly not an authority figure,” Reid said. “I promise you, I feel like if my mother and my wife were not present, he probably would’ve killed me.”

Dekalb County spokesperson Keisha Williams said it was wrong for Reid and Toledo to blame their sexual orientation for the way they were treated. “I think it’s not fair to assume that the way you look is the reason you were treated a certain way,” Williams said.

Oh really? I wonder if the phrase "driving while black" means anything to Ms. Williams.

Throughout the traffic stop, Toledo, Reid and Reid’s mother said they repeatedly asked Asberry why they were pulled over; instead of answering the women, Asberry allegedly said he was taking extra precautions during the traffic stop because an officer was shot earlier in the night. When the women continued to protest, Asberry allegedly snapped.

“He said, ‘I’ve had it out of you,’ and then he took the back of my head and slammed it face-first into the cement,” Reid said.

By the time the paramedics arrived Reid was too afraid to receive treatment because she felt they were in cahoots with the officer as they were also making anti-gay jokes.

Read about the legal action that was taken by Reid and the history of foul behavior and complaints for officer Asberry here .

Hi-five to Bernie and Ryan Lee at sovo.com