Employee who filmed attack “is no longer employed with my organization,” says McDonald’s franchise owner.
A transgender woman, the victim of a brutal hate crime beating in a Baltimore area McDonald’s shown in a cell phone camera video that went viral across the Internet this weekend, has come forward and given an interview on camera to the press. In this video (below,) Chrissy Lee Polis, 22, talks about what actually happened in the McDonald’s restaurant, why her attackers beat her, and how she’s feeling.
The actual video of the hate crime beating in the Baltimore area McDonald’s can be seen here.
“They really hurt me really bad,” Polis says in this video. Polis adds she was already on her way out of the restroom when the two teenaged girls, one 14 and one 18, spit at her, then accosted her. One of the teens, Polis claims, accused her of talking to “my man,” and that was part of the reason for the attack.
“I’m just afraid to go outside now because of stuff like this,” says Polis, who adds ”I want to cry, but I need to hold my head up.”
“I’m just afraid to go outside now because of stuff like this,” says Polis, but adds that “They just seemed like they wanted to pick a fight that night.”
Polis tells The Baltimore Sun, the violent attack, which the McDonald’s employees did nothing to stop, and were actually laughing about, is ”definitely a hate crime.” Polis, who was kicked in the head repeatedly, and dragged across the floor by the two teenaged assailants, who stopped, left, and returned several times, was literally dragged from the back of the restaurant almost all the way to the front door by the two female teens.
READ: “Hate Crime: Young Transgender Woman Beaten Into Seizure At McDonald’s“
“Polis, who said she had a sex-change operation to become a woman, said this isn’t the first time that she’s been picked on physically because of her sexual identity,” writes Jill Rosen in The Baltimore Sun, who adds, “She said she’s been subjected to beatings and even sexual assaults.”
“She said seeing herself all over the Internet and all over the news has been “like walking out of the closet all over again.” Polis is concerned that the public attention could trigger more violence — and worries it could hurt her chances of getting a job. “I want to cry, but I need to hold my head up,” she said,” according to the report filed late Saturday night.
“Her twin brother, Matty Polis, who also lives in Baltimore, said it’s been painful to watch her have to endure these sorts of attacks.”
“My sister has gotten this her entire life,” Matty Polis said. “Being the way she is, she’s always had a hard time,” The Sun article says.
The employee who filmed attack “is no longer employed with my organization,” claims McDonald’s franchise owner, according to reports.
“When the case was first presented, none of those facts [that the victim is transgender] had been revealed to the police — which is why the charges were the way they were,” the state’s attorney for Baltimore County, Scott Shellenberger, told The Sun, contrary to reports in some media outlets and blogs that the state had only considered filing hate crime charges based on the racial elements of the case. ”We can certainly revisit the motive for the attack and determine if we need to make additional charges,” Shellenberger says.
“This latest attack highlights the extraordinary level of violence and brutality that transgender people face in their everyday lives,” Michael Silverman, Executive Director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund told The New Civil Rights Movement Saturday. “We call upon the authorities to fully investigate this attack as a hate crime, and hope that the victim will receive some measure of justice. On average, a transgender person is murdered every month in the United States. This violence is intolerable. We all must redouble our efforts to stop hate-motivated violence directed at transgender people.”
The three-minute video that has gone viral depicts the 22-year old transgender woman being kicked in the head repeatedly, and dragged across the floor by the two teenaged assailants. Once the attack stops, the woman rests against the wall, only to be kicked again. Then, as her attackers appear to be leaving, they return and continue the assault, literally dragging her from the back of the restaurant almost all the way to the front door. She has a seizure and convulsions as the beating continues.
Exactly one week before the hate crime beating, the Maryland Senate effectively killed the Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Bill, also known as HB 235, which would have protected transgender people in housing, banking, and employment. While the bill would have had no direct impact on this incident, the Maryland Senate sent Maryland citizens a strong message by killing the bill.
Bilerico has posted the actual police report. Change.org has a petition you can sign, “Demand that the employees on duty at McDonald’s be held responsible in the beating of a trans woman.”
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{ 34 comments }
My husband showed me this today and we just became enraged! To sit there and watch someone being hurt to the point where they have a seizure is rediculous! Kudos to that old woman that actually stood up to these little b@$%#'s! I would have jumped on them little girls myself and spanked theirs butts myself since it seems that their own mothers have never disciplined them before. 14 yrs old! What is she doing out at night anyway? She should be at home, doing her homework, getting ready for school. So many little hootchies fighting about a stupid man! Chrissy, we are so sorry you had to deal with such hate and for no reason at all. Instead of taking this experience as a bad one, use it to help you to becomea stronger WOMAN
Dont let them continue to abuse you. And you should hold your head up high! Happy Easter sweetie!
Unless the employee was heckling or laughing about what happened, you could argue that he/she did a good service by capturing the video on record. What I didn't like is that hardly anybody tried to help. I don't care if you're a woman or not. You start beating on somebody viciously like that, the gloves are off. I would have beaten those bitched until they either left or I subdued them for the cops. The fact that hardly anybody tried to stop it save the courageous black man and the older lady toward the end makes my heart sad. There must have been at least 8 or 10 people there aside from the assailants and the victim.
There should be a "Bad Samaritan" law for people that stand by and watch brutal attacks.
in psychology it i actually called the bystander effect, when everyone doesn't want to be the first to aid because they think someone else will. that is the flaw in many people as a whole. a law against that might improve things or possibly make them worse with a sudden influx of people fearing they'd get in trouble for not helping, they may actually do more harm than good.
A law like tht exists in Mississippi, although it doesn't specifically pertain to transgendered persons. You can be prosecuted if you fail to provide timely assistance in a time of great need.
Except that he was laughing and cheering the fight on.
So… does one minority get away with a hate crime against another minority?
Do they cross each other out?
This will be interesting.
Honey, blacks are no longer a minority. If I call myself a minority and beat your ass to a seizure – does that mean I can walk away from answering for my actions? According to you that would be correct. Right?
I know that I cannot do anything directly to comfort you, but you can bet your bottom dollar, that I and my friends, will always fight for the right to be who you are. My sincere sympanthy to you and hope you fully recover soon.
They should put the names and pictures of all the workers at Mc Donalds (including the manager) on the newspapers/web so these people would never get hired again. And, those two girls should put their pictures/mugshots, full name, ages all over the press, then put them in jail, for a least 2 years. That's the only way people will stop acting like animals, if there is a huge consequence… make them all pay!
You are a strong beautiful woman Chrissy who did not deserve this….don't let it get you down though….they were just hating cause you are such a beautiful young woman and more of a lady then they could ever dream of being! Hold your head up darling….I will be praying that you find peace and strength through all of this!
I can't believe this happens……freaking animals.
All the McDonalds employees present should be fired and even some sort of charges filed upon them for not helping, it's like aiding and abeding. they helped those animals just by simply standing there, but they laughed too that's worse. and those animals that commited this crime.
they should be sentenced for attempted murder .
Crissy, not everone is like this. there are many people in this world that would never do that and would help.
i wouldint call it a hate crime. they did not beat chrissy for being transgenderd, it was over a dude. even she said so. not one time did chrissy say it was beccause of that. i dont have any reasons to think the two girls knew chrissy was transgended.
furthermore i do not think mcdonalds should be held at fault. it is so easy to say '' oh if i was there i would have did. . .'' when the truth of the matter is you do ont know what you would have done. there is this little thing in psychology call the DIFFUSION OF RESPONSIBILITY thats when something unexpected happens and everyone looks around for someone else to be the hero. it happens! it happend to me before. i seen a women get dragged by a car. i wanted to do something, but coudint even move
I feel sorry for you Marcus! My husband and I were confronted with a similar situation, a young lady being dragged to a car. I thought, if we do nothing -could i ever hope that someone would help my child if they were ever in trouble. You have to do what you can, my husband and I had to do something to help and we did. Everyone please do something in these cases whether it's getting physically involved or at the very least calling 911….DO SOMETHING!
I get what you're saying, Marcus, about the reasons for the crime, but the person who posted the video said that it was okay because the person who was beaten was "a guy dressed as a woman." So, even if the actual attackers didn't know Chrissy was transgendered, at least one of the people watching did, and he/she didn't step in to stop the attack. I think it's apparent that there's a very good chance of this being a hate crime.
The fact that McDonalds employees were involved is what makes McDonalds, in part, at fault.
I agree with you Marcus. The fact is senseless crimes like this happen all of the time. I live on a college campus and I see women attack other women over men on nearly a weekly basis. It is sad but is happens. The girls who attacked this young woman were wrong and they should be punished for their crime. However, this was not a hate crime. The girl said it herself the accused her of talking to "their man" that was the issue. If Crissy had been an African American woman (not trangender) those girls would have still attacked her because of their ignorance but no one would be calling it a hate crime. You see similar cases on t.v. all the time (ex. the girl Janelle from teen mom who attacked a girl for talking to "her man" which was also filmed and put on the internet) and it is not considered a hate crime.
I may not have the best hearing on the planet but I could hear both of the assailants plus some of the bystanders calling her "fag" a few minutes in. And regardless of any of that because the assailants returned repeatedly after the initial hit and referred to her in the beginning as "White Bitch" and spouted sexist and racial epitaphs throughout it is a hate crime. And according to these statutes its a Federal crime ,… Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act,….Matthew Shepard Act.
I agree with you Marcus. I would have definitely called 911 on my cell phone, but would I have jumped in the middle of that mess? Heck no!
Being A transexual girl myself I was Mortified watching this , I am still upset with Knots in my stomache , The facts are clear This Was A Hate crime , and it should be dragged all the way to the house and senate , Show those Old stuffy B****rds that this sort of thing happens daily to those Transitioning or who Have transitioned , It's time We as The T section of GLBTQA Have legislation that protects Us in every state , I Admire You Hun for going public it really takes strength to stand up and show that You are worth more then what so many have said and are to say in the future . Their ignorance should not force you to live in fear , you have feared enough in your life Transition is rought with debilitating fears so many do not understand this , it's time they Get the Message . My heart goes out for you Hun Take care and be well .
First of all I did not see the start of this fracas since the video I saw on youtube was third generation, but maybe these girls thought a perverted man was trying to sneak into the ladies room to harm someone and were not aware that this was a transsexual. Baltimore is a rough town and people go to extremes when they feel their safety is threatened. I am not condoning violence but I find it unusual for girls to attack a transsexual as arule. Men do that.
If this was the case, they should have alerted a manager rather than take matters into their own hands.
She has female parts. She's a woman. How would they know if she wasn't a she anyway unless they followed her into a stall and watched her pee? And really, when it's two or three on one, how the hell do you feel threatened by those odds? Besides, if they were feeling so threatened why the hell wouldn't they have just ran away after they knocked the poor woman down the first time? That's some pretty ridiculous judgment there.
It could simply be because an upper class majority hearing the case could look down on both minorities, not caring so much about the transgendered and thinking it typical behavior of the attacker.
If you watch the original video you can hear people shout out "that's a man" "it's a dude"….so they knew. Polis still has an adams' apple and you can still kind of tell that she's not 100% female yet.
I believe it was a hate crime – yea, they may have been paranoid and pissed thinking she "talked to her man" but even that is no reason to go ape shit violent on someone like that. Also no excuse if they thought she/he was a creep sneaking into the Ladies Room. You go get help – you don't lose your freaking mind and gang up on a defenseless person. Those two girls are evil, immoral, wild out of control teens whose parents have NOT DONE THEIR JOBS. They deserve jail. Crazy violent b*tches.
Can we all who have watched this video do something (a fund, generate support funds/ legal fees) to support Crissy?
The only things I've seen in support of her are a vigil tonight that's going to be held at the McDonald's where Chrissy was attacked, and I believe there will also be a rally at the same place on Thursday. As far as funds and such, I'm not sure.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=21699999165… – A link for the vigil
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=11018787906… – For the rally
Did some more snooping around and found a donation site for Chrissy — http://www.transowned.biz/help_chrissy.html
That manager (and all of the employees on that shift) need to be fired too. The manager told the attackers to leave before the police arrive and made no real attempt to assist the victim.
Those young female thugs are trash; just a waste of space on this earth. So you are upset because the transgender person wants to use the Woman's bathroom? Serious, what is it, is your sexuality threatened? Do you think that person was going to check you out in a sexually suggestive manner? Are you jealous? Did your guy hit on her? Well, why don't you walk away with dignity and dump him.
Get over yourself!
This is a video the shows human trash acting out. Just think of what kind of parents these women are going to make? Disgusting.
Dear 4Chan,
Please bring those bitches to justice and make their lives a living HELL!!!
How come nobody talks about this girl also being WHITE? I lived in Baltimore for a year and a half, speak with non-American accent, and all the discrimination I have seen was in video rental shop, in grocery store at Rolling and Liverty Road, and at work where people are predominantly blacks. No one wants to address the issue in Baltimore that some African-Americans hate anyone who is white, a foreigner, or looks and talks differently then them. Even my African friends couldn't accept that animal behavior locals expose. Blame colonization after that, where 200 years later civility is still an unknown concept to them.
Chrissy, our hearts go out to you. Your courage to be true to yourself is an inspiration.
I know the pain is fresh now, but years from now you'll look back on this experience as one of the many obstacles that helped you become stronger and more determined to make a better life for yourself. Feel the love and support from all of us out here and soak it in. Use that positive energy to pull yourself up and commit to doing whatever it takes to become the best possible woman you can be.
Good luck in your job hunt!
you are wound a tad too tight..
does the term "tongue in cheek" mean anything to you?
That's so true. No one wouldn't even care and just say that the transexual deserves it but OF COURSE, since they're black it's all about race.
—————–Kia
No one said anything about race. It shouldn't matter that the two girls were black or that the woman who was beaten was transgender. The thing that matters is that they beat her into a seizure, watching the video you can see she couldn't defend herself because the two girls kept coming back and repeatedly punched her in the head and the back. No one cares that the two girls were black, and no one is making it about race. People like you and "Williemojorisin" make me sick, keep your bigoted opinions to yourself next time.
Oh and by the way (not that it has any relevance to my comment) I'm a BLACK woman.
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