Police Suspend Investigation Into Alleged Hate Crime

Pacifica Police have suspended their investigation into an alleged hate crime that occurred at a Pacifica bus stop on May 25.

According to Police Captain Dave Bertini, the victim, 24-year-old Brandon Moore, was unable to identify his own his assailants after being shown photographs from a school yearbook. "He did say his back was turned when he was struck, so he couldn’t say whom his assailants were," said Bertini.

Moore, who lives near the high school, said he was waiting for a bus at the intersection of Mason Drive and Terra Nova Boulevard to go grocery shopping shortly after 1 p.m. He was wearing blue jeans, heeled boots, a white trench coat and a black leather fedora hat. Nineteen students who had just been released from Terra Nova High School were also there, he said. 

“Apparently they didn’t like how I was dressed,” Moore told local editor Camden Swita when Pacifica Patch first reported the story. "I was just listening to music in headphones, you know, and ignoring them as best I could and staring at the road and they started throwing slurs. Again, I did what any of the anti-bullying things tell you to do, you know, ignore them."

That’s when Moore said he was punched twice in the back, once below the left shoulder blade and once above the left kidney. When he recovered and turned around, the students had surrounded him.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell who was the assailant because by the time I turned around they were just in a semicircle, no one had their fists balled and no one seemed to be leading the pack,” he said.

Moore identifies himself as homosexual, and told Pacifica Patch that he believes the alleged assault was a hate crime.

Thirteen witnesses, all identified as Terra Nova students, were interviewed. "All the witnesses who were identified either have proof they were not there, or they said they said they didn’t see anything happen as was described by the victim," said Bertini.

Moore was not surprised at the news. " I kind of figured that would happen," he said. "If the police feel they need to suspend the investigation, that’s certainly understandable from my point of view. I don’t want retribution, I’m not vindictive, I just wanted public awareness, and that’s what I’ve got."

Captain Bertini did not consider this an unusual case. "After 24 years of doing this job, basically what happens is there are three sides of the story; there’s one side, there’s the other side, somewhere in the middle is the truth.  It’s really our job to get down to that truth. Everybody perceives incidents differently, and a lot of things go into that perception."

Moore said that because of this incident, he plans on moving away. "I’m terrified of using the bus system, and I don’t exactly feel safe in my house. I’ve seen several familiar faces around Pacifica; in the pharmacy parking lot last week, someone obviously recognized me, and I started to panic. I didn’t know what to do.  I mean, what can you do?"

According to Bertini, the case is now inactive. He adds that if any further information comes forward, it could be reactivated.