News and updates about crime, public safety, and courts for the greater San Diego LGBTQ+ community.
by Neal Putnam
Hate Crimes addressed as City prepares for new Police Chief
Members of the San Diego City Council told the outgoing police chief on May 20 that they were troubled by the nearly 74% increase in hate crimes in 2023, which included a 32% increase of crimes involving sexual orientation.
“I am saddened to see the hate crimes are rising a bit, though overall crime is down,” said District 5 Councilmember Marni von Wilpert to Police Chief David Nisleit.
“Last week [this happened] to one of my dear friends in Hillcrest,” von Wilpert continued. “Folks came to his home and ripped a Pride flag off his fence and burned it in his driveway overnight.
“SDPD has taken this very seriously. I want to appreciate all you do for victims of hate crimes,” von Wilpert said to Nisleit.
Nisleit, who is retiring after eight years as police chief, is being replaced by Assistant Chief Scott Wahl on June 7.
In response, Nisleit said one reason for the increase is “more education going out as to what is a hate crime” and increased awareness about reporting them. He said there are also different ways and agencies with whom people can make a report of the crimes.
“We have a very polarized, divided country right now,” Nisleit added. “There’s a lot of anger out there. I think that’s what’s festering, if you will.”
The police chief also said that some incidents involving religion refer to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the war between the two groups. There were 18 incidents involving religion in 2023 as compared to only four in 2022, resulting in a 27% increase.
District 3 Councilmember Stephen Whitburn thanked Nisleit for officers responding quickly to the pellet shootings of people outside LGBTQ establishments in Hillcrest on May 18 after midnight.
Reports state that a passenger fired gel pellets from a black sedan at The Rail, Number One Fifth Avenue, Rich’s Nightclub, and Pecs.
San Diego Police said they are investigating the incidents as possible hate crimes. A press release said a man walking with his wife in Old Town was also struck with a gel pellet before the other incidents took place in Hillcrest.
“I am really impressed and appreciative of the response by SDPD,” Whitburn told Nisleit. “Hopefully we will bring someone to justice for what happened there.”
“It’s very troubling to see the hate crimes increase by 73% in the city,” said District 2 Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, who is also a member of the LGBTQ community.
“San Diegans should not be intimidated or afraid to practice their religion or love whom they want,” she said. “We have also seen the rise of anti-Semitism and homophobia. Let’s hope we keep the numbers down.”
District 4 Councilmember Henry Foster III said he was puzzled about hate crimes against blacks, as there were only about 5% African Americans in the population of San Diego County.
“We also ask people to report on hate incidents because what we’re trying to do is get in front of that crime before it actually occurs,” Nisleit said. Why does somebody think it’s okay to hate somebody, whether it is ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion?” asked the police chief. “We have a lot of work still to do.”
District 7 Councilmember Raul Campillo said the report shows “a lot of progress,” since almost all crime categories decreased. Campillo said the report disclosed that homicides were down from 52 in 2022 to 45 in 2023, with a clearance rate (arrests) of 84% in those 2023 homicides.
A public speaker, Joy Sunyata, told the Council the hate crime increases were “heartbreaking,” adding, “we all bleed red.”
“We have to address being kind to each other,” said Blair Beckman, who spoke via his computer to the Council.
Food Truck Arsonist Ordered to Repay
A judge on May 9 ordered Avonte Ahikim Hartsfield to pay $344,321.65 in restitution to two insurance companies and two groups who donated funds to him after he falsely claimed his own vegan food truck was torched in a hate crime.
Hartsfield, 27, was sentenced to five years and four months in state prison for arson and insurance fraud on March 20, after a jury convicted him of those offenses. He had acted as his own attorney in San Diego Superior Court against the advice of the judge at the time.
Hartsfield, who is black and also gay, claimed he was the the victim of a hate crime in the 2021 torching, but in a tape-recorded statement, he said he saw a rice cooker spark and that the fire was accidental.
As part of his sentencing, Judge Kimberlee Lagotta ordered Hartsfield to pay $26,678 to GoFundMe – the amount of donations he received from his campaign on the website related to the fire, and $20,000 to the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, who had donated that amount to Hartsfield after the fire.
In addition, Hartsfield was ordered to pay State Farm Insurance $236,383.66, and Progressive Casualty Insurance $61,259.99. –Neal Putnam is a local crime reporter. You can reach him at [email protected].
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