Hate-crime investigation delay probed

The Edmonton Police Service isconducting an internal investigation to determinewhy avicious assault was not investigateduntil nearly four days after the incident.

Shannon Barry, 31,suffered a broken jaw, a crushed left eye socket and facial nerve damage after being kicked in the face early Saturday by aman who hurled sexual epithets at her before theattack.

Barry, who is a lesbian,isrecovering at home aftersurgery Wednesday to implant two plates in her face.

The attack isbeing investigated by the police department's hate crime unit.

It happened as Barry and five friends were walking along 96th Streetnear 75th Avenue about 3:30 a.m. Saturday. Four men yelled at the group, calling them "dykes and faggots" before one of themkicked Barry, who had stumbled and fallen,in the face.

Police confirmed they began investigating the incident only after a CBC News reportcame out Wednesday. It detailed how the officer who responded to the women's 911 call had not followed the standard police practice of calling in a dog team or helicopter to search for the attackers, who had fled after the assault.

The officer also did not interview any of the witnesses and had not filed a report,a breach of police policy.

"It is unfortunate that we need to learn [about the assault] from the media," Insp. Phil Bailey of the Edmonton Police Servicesaid Thursday.

Bailey's comments camejust minutes before an event marking Victims Awareness Weekat city hallattended byMayor Stephen Mandel.

"We will be doing a review to determine what lessons can be learned," Bailey said, "Out of every incident that happens, we have the opportunity to learn, improve and provide better service to our citizens."

The fact the investigating officer did not follow procedure was unacceptable, Bailey said.

"Incidents like this cause us all to sit up and go, 'What happened?' and to look and say: OK, was there a supervisory issue? Was there a policy issue? Was there a procedure issue? And, what can we do to ensure this doesn't happen again? It's concerning to all police officers when we miss a step," said Bailey.

Bailey confirmed the officer who handled the initialinvestigationfiled his report Thursdaymorning and had been interviewed by detectives from the hate crime unit.

Witnesses were also being interviewed Thursday, Bailey said.

Barry is not impressed with the police reaction.

'[It's] like they don't care. And that's what makes me not feel safe in my own city.' Shannon Barry, assault victim

"When I called in about an incident report and there was no record of it even happening, that made me angry, very angry," she said.

"[It's] like this never happened to me. Like they don't care. And that's what makes me not feel safe in my own city."

Being pushed into the spotlight over the issue also makes her uncomfortable, she said.

"I'm just a regular person trying to make something good out of a really, like brutal, horrifying thing that happened. That could have happened to any one of us."

Story sparks public outrage

The story sparked public outrage, expressed in postings on the CBC Edmonton website.

"I find the inaction of the Edmonton police disgusting and hope that they are held accountable for the extremely poor choices made by the officer on duty," one reader wrote.

Another wrote: "This whole story is so very sad and should be embarrassing for every Canadian.There should be an investigation of the EPS response to this serious hate crime. EPS should immediately issue an apology to Shannon Barry."

Mandel said he didn't know enough about the incident to commentonpolice conduct.As for Barry's attackers, the mayor said: "The kind of people that committed the horrific attack on that individual what can you say about those kind of people in the city? They are just not welcome."

Bailey, meanwhile, acknowledged theEPS has heard the outrage from the public over the incident and appealed for understanding.

"My hope is that the citizens understand that there are one-offs, and we take the one-offs very seriously," he said.

The Edmonton Police Service has a liaison committee involving the lesbian and gay community. The incident raises troubling questions, said committeeco-chair Kris Wells, a researcher at the University of Alberta.

"I think a delay of that length in any kind of violent assault is inappropriate," he said. "Why was there a delay? Was it the fault of the system, the individuals who attended the scene?"

The committee has a very strong working relationship with police, Wells said, and has been promised that members wouldbe kept informed of the investigation.

"This isn't just an issue with the Edmonton Police Service but all police services across Canada," he said. "Many don't have specialized hate crimes units."

The attack on Barry was "designed to instill fear and terror into an entire community, and I think that's what we see happening here, right?

"If this person can be assaulted because of their identity, then any one of us from the lesbian and gay community is vulnerable to being victimized," he said.