A Bunch Of…

Charges were dropped against two men who assaulted a trans woman in front of witness for lack of evidence.

Charges dropped in Spokane transgender attack
KREM
By Lindsay Nadrich
October 1, 2015

SPOKANE, Wash.—A lack of evidence forced the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office to drop charges in September against two men accused of attacking a transgender woman.
[…]
A witness who saw the January 30 assault on Carla said it is clear the victim was targeted because she is a transgender woman.

Police said two males entered Boots Bakery around 10:00 p.m. Friday night. Upon entering, detectives said, the men assaulted a female, and then fled from the location on foot.

But all charges were dropped… why?

The Inlander blog had this to say about the charges,

“I find the dropping of all charges against the suspects to be troubling and shocking,” said Blaine Stum, the chair of the city’s Human Rights Commission, in a statement emailed to the Inlander. “The victim’s testimony, as well as eye witness accounts, corroborate the fact that she was assaulted by these men in act of violence fueled by bias. Dropping malicious harassment charges would have been egregious enough, but to not pursue any charges is a travesty.”

The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning that they can be refiled if the prosecution later finds more evidence. The prosecuting attorney on the case wasn’t available for comment.

There was some mention of comments made the attackers before the assault and the victim spit on the attackers after derogatory remarks were made.