Black on white assaults sky rocket in OH city
All John Alchier could do was sit and pray.
Hiscall to 911 was put on hold, he said, as he sat in his wheelchair andwatched a group of teens pummel his brother and friend.
Alchier,40, had a front-row seat as the teens swarmed a family gathering onGirard Street following the June 27 fireworks show at Firestone Park.Helplessness overtook him as he prayed out loud.
Community leaders are now voicing disgust over the attack, which is an example of the city’s ballooning assault rate.
Inpolice District 6, which includes Firestone Park, reports show thataggravated assaults have more than doubled this year compared with 2008.
The increase in aggravated assaults is even more dramatic in other areas of the city.
Whathappened on Girard Street is also a symbol of Akron’s hushed racialtension. The victims are white; their attackers are black.
The attack has ignited scores of reaction, including a call for justice for the victims by the Rev. Al Sharpton.
From his view, Alchier said there’s more to the story than has been told.
”The newspapers and the news is not telling the entire story. No one is,” Alchier said from his home in Akron.
Thosewho witnessed the assault or survived it say this was no isolatedincident, and the beatings to Greg Alchier and his friend, MartyMarshall, extended farther than Girard Street that night. A thirdvictim is identified in a police report. More are believed to have beentreated for injuries.