Listen to this articleA 20-year-old Utah gay man was attacked last Friday night after leaving Club Pure in Salt Lake City. The assault is being treated as a hate crime. Jordan Corona said he left the club on Saturday morning at 2 a.m. and was walking to his car, which was parked near the back of the building, when several people attacked him from behind. He said all he could remember after that was waking up with police surrounding him. He did not get a view of his attackers.
After the attack, police witnessed him wandering toward them near the Metro Bar parking lot. Corona said they thought he was drunk because he passed out and was nonresponsive. The officers took him to the county jail where he tried to convince them that he was sober, and only passed out because he was attacked and beaten, he said. When the arresting officers realized they had made a mistake, he was taken to the hospital where he was treated for a concussion, Corona said.
“The doctors say I was lucky no bones are broken. But my collar bone is really bruised, probably from being kicked on the ground, and my wrist is sprained and my face is just really messed up,” Corona said.
Police are investigating the matter, but there are no suspects yet, he said. If anyone saw anything suspicious or has any further information, contact the Salt Lake City Police Department at 801-799-3000.
Corona said he was frustrated with the way the police handled the situation because the officers automatically assumed he was drunk and he was not allowed to see a nurse in jail. However, he said the police have tried to rectify the situation and are being very cooperative with the investigation.
“I just want people to see this kind of stuff really does happen and it needs to be stopped immediately,” Corona said.
The Salt Lake City Police Department had no comments on the incident because the incident report has not yet been filed.
