2006 Greenwich Village assault case

2006 American legal case January 2025 September 2023 On August 18, 2006, Dwayne Buckle, an African American independent filmmaker, and a group of seven young black lesbian friends from Newark, New Jersey, got into a physical conflict outside of the IFC Center movie theater in Greenwich Village, in Manhattan, New York City. During the altercation, Buckle was cut; he required five days of hospitalization. The women claimed that they were acting in self-defense,https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/nyregion/14assault.html?ex=1177128000&en=a1ea123367fd1a57&ei=5099&partner=TOPIXNEWS Woman in Gang Assault Trial Says Man Started the Fight Hartocollis Anemona 2007-04-14 The New York Times 2009-01-14 while Buckle claims the women initiated the attack motivated to commit "a hate crime against a straight man".https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19233888 Four women sentenced over attack on man Associated Press 2007-06-15 NBC News 2009-01-14 The case sparked sensational media attention. Four members of the group of seven women were subsequently tried and convicted. Three of the convictions were overturned on appeal; of those three, two were ordered new trials, and both were convicted again.http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2008/2008_09642.htm People v Brown New York State Courts February 11, 2009 2018-04-12 The one whose case was dismissed had spent two years in prison. Incident Buckle says he was trying to sell some of his DVDs on the street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, and he approached one of the women in the group, whom he "admired". Buckle said she smiled back, but another woman in the group responded by mocking his jeans and sneakers as "cheap". Buckle says he responded to the insult in kind and an argument ensued, whereupon one woman slapped him and another spat on him. Buckle says he spat back, then he was attacked by the group, clawed and ultimately severely cut on the abdomen.https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/19/nyregion/19stab.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Man Is Stabbed in Attack After Admiring a Stranger Buckley Cara Kate Hammer 2006-08-19 The New York Times 2009-01-14 Patreese Johnson testified that Buckle initiated the altercation by pointing to her crotch and demanding, "Let me get some of that!" as her group walked past him. She claimed she replied, "No thank you, I'm not interested in that", whereupon Buckle began following them, making more crude comments and gestures. After the women proclaimed themselves lesbians, Buckle allegedly threw a cigarette at them and became even more insulting, calling the group "fucking dykes",http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2007/04/19/2007-04-19_lesbian_wolf_pack_guilty.html Lesbian wolf pack guilty Martinez Jose 2007-04-19 New York Daily News 2009-01-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20080921152927/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2007/04/19/2007-04-19_lesbian_wolf_pack_guilty.html 2008-09-21 dead and yelled, "I'll fuck you straight, sweetheart".http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2007/04/12/2007-04-12_the_case_of_the_lesbian_beatdown-2.html The case of the lesbian beatdown Ross Barbara Tracy Connor 2007-04-12 New York Daily News 2009-01-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20090515025124/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2007/04/12/2007-04-12_the_case_of_the_lesbian_beatdown-2.html 2009-05-15 dead The group stopped and confronted him, and more harsh words were exchanged. Buckle then began shoving the women, ultimately tackling and choking Renata Hill. Johnson, afraid for Hill's life, cut Buckle using a steak knife. Two or three male bystanders, whose identities were never ascertained, intervened in the fight. The women claimed they were "Good Samaritans" acting of their own volition to assist them against their attacker. Buckle claimed the women recruited the men to attack him. One defense attorney advanced the women's testimony that one of the intervenors, not Johnson, was the individual who actually cut Buckle.https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/nyregion/19attack.html Four Women Are Convicted in Attack on Man in Village Hartocollis, Anemona April 19, 2007 The New York Times 2009-03-25 Trial Buckle, a New York resident, testified that he could not remember which of the women he thought was pretty. He testified that before the attack he told one woman she looked like an elephant, and another that she looked like a man. He also testified that his only physical response to the attack was to put his hands in front of his face. The defense presented surveillance footage of Buckle on top of a woman with his hands on her throat. At trial, a police officer who recovered Johnson's knife at the scene testified that he saw no blood on it. No forensic testing was done on the knife. Law enforcement never attempted to find the men who intervened in the melee. The defense claimed the video footage showed Buckle initiating the altercation. The prosecutor's case was based on video that showed Johnson calmly stepping out of the fray, removing her knife from her bag, then stepping back into the group attack. Johnson alone was charged with attempted murder. The trial itself was lengthy, lasting nearly a year. The all-white jury of 10 women and two men deliberated for only five hours, finding all four women, New Jersey residents, guilty of second-degree gang assault. Johnson was found not guilty of attempted murder. New York Supreme Court Justice Edward McLaughlin pronounced sentences ranging from 3½ to 11 years. The judge cited as "damning" evidence video surveillance depicting Venice Brown chasing Buckle down. At the conclusion, Buckle told the New York Daily News: "I'm stabbed and I have a scar that will be with me for the rest of my life...They have their jail sentences, but they'll be out soon. This is what I get for being a nice guy." Three of the seven women pleaded guilty to attempted assault, and were sentenced to six months. The other four went to trial and were convicted. Two of these women's convictions were subsequently overturned: Terrain Dandridge's appeal succeeded on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to support her conviction; Renata Hill's conviction was reversed on the basis that the trial judge gave the jury faulty instructions. As of June 2008, Patreese Johnson and Venice Brown's convictions were still pending appeal.https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/nyregion/20appeal.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin Two Convictions Overturned in Attack on Man in Village Eligon John 2008-06-20 The New York Times 2009-01-14 As of sometime after June 2008, the courts have ruled and Venice Brown can have a new trial like Renata Hill (both Hill and Brown were subsequently convicted) and Johnson's conviction was upheld for her attempting murder. As of 2018, they should no longer be serving time in prison for this incident. Media coverage Much of the media coverage was sensational, referring to the incident as the "attack of the killer lesbians", and to the group as a "seething sapphic septet".http://www.nypost.com/seven/04122007/news/regionalnews/attack_of_the_killer_lesbians_regionalnews_laura_italiano.htm Attack of the Killer Lesbians Italiano Laura 2007-04-12 New York Post 2009-01-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20090103215008/http://www.nypost.com/seven/04122007/news/regionalnews/attack_of_the_killer_lesbians_regionalnews_laura_italiano.htm 3 January 2009 dead dmy-all The case was also cited in a Village Voice article about rap culture and young black lesbians.http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-04-03/nyc-life/girls-to-men/ Girls to Men Hilliard Chloe 2007-04-03 The Village Voice 2009-01-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20090116041019/http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-04-03/nyc-life/girls-to-men/ 16 January 2009 dead The O'Reilly Factor ran a segment entitled "Violent Lesbian Gangs a Growing Problem". The story described the incident from a point of view sympathetic to Buckle, and described a "national underground network... that's actually recruiting kids as young as 10 years old" and engaging in homosexual recruitment. The story described these gangs as groups that "just want to hurt people".http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100007214&docId=l:630549858&start=2 Violent Lesbian Gangs a Growing Problem O'Reilly Bill Rod Wheeler 2007-06-21 Fox News Network 2009-01-14 2009-03-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20090328125726/http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100007214&docId=l:630549858&start=2 dead The Southern Poverty Law Center criticized O'Reilly's story as inaccurate, and criticized the segment's commentator, Rod Wheeler, as unqualified.http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2007/fall/the-oh-really-factor The Oh-Really Factor Buchanan Susy David Holthouse 2007-07-03 Southern Poverty Law Center 2009-01-14 The SPLC's Hatewatch website sarcastically awarded O'Reilly their "Most Gullible Broadcaster Award".http://www.splcenter.org/blog/index.php?s=jbs The Last Word: Hatewatch's 1st Annual Smackdown Awards Potok Mark 2007-12-21 Southern Poverty Law Center 2009-01-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20110609014501/http://www.splcenter.org/blog/index.php?s=jbs 2011-06-09 dead The Gay City News criticized the sensationalistic coverage, pointing to elements the mainstream press ignored, such as allegations that Buckle tore a chunk of hair from one woman's scalp.http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18531149&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=585504&rfi=6 Killer Lesbians Mauled by Killer Court, Media Wolfpack Day Susie 2007-06-28 Gay City News 2009-01-14 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070713031412/http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18531149&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=585504&rfi=6 July 13, 2007 A New York-based LGBT youth advocacy group, FIERCE, claimed the women's prosecution was motivated by attempts to "gentrify" the West Village area, noting the judge's comments about "how New York welcomes tourists". FIERCE also complained that "every possible racist, anti-woman, anti-LGBT and anti-youth tactic" was used by the prosecution against the women.http://nyc.indymedia.org/or/2007/07/88068.html Lesbians sentenced for self-defense Henry Imani 2007-06-21 2009-01-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20181011121825/https://nyc.indymedia.org/or/2007/07/88068.html 2018-10-11 dead Out In The Night, a documentary film by blair dorosh-walther, was released in June 2014.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3717242/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Out in the Night (2014) - IMDb IMDb 12 June 2014 The documentary follows the four women who did not plead guilty, telling the story for the first time from their points of view.http://www.outinthenight.com Out In the Night Homepage September 28, 2021 AlterNet named Out in the Night one of the top 12 best and most powerful documentaries of 2014, saying that that film "might be considered the ethical journalism the media itself failed to produce around the 2006 case of the 'New Jersey Four.http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/documentaries-extraordinaire-12-best-and-most-powerful-2014 Documentaries Extraordinaire: the 12 Best and Most Powerful of 2014 Holloway Kali December 27, 2014 AlterNet September 28, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20141230034411/http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/documentaries-extraordinaire-12-best-and-most-powerful-2014 December 30, 2014 The film highlighted the injustices done to the four defendants. One major flaw during the trial was that Buckle's injuries were perceived to be more severe than they actually were. At the hospital, Buckle received a surgery to fix his hernia. Jurors were tricked into believing the large scar from the surgery was actually the stab wound he received during the altercation. See also Sakia Gunn Crime in New York City References Category:2006 in LGBTQ history Category:2006 in United States case law Category:Greenwich Village Category:August 2006 crimes in the United States