Two and a half weeks after Peter Regier and David Holtzman were gaybashed outside their Keefer St home, Vancouver police say there have been no arrests but the investigation is still “very active.”
“The investigation is progressing to our satisfaction,” Const Lindsey Houghton told Xtra on June 28.
Houghton says the public has been “exceptionally helpful.”
He also says that detectives on the case are in regular contact with the couple and have built a “very strong rapport with them.”
But Holtzman says he hasn’t spoken to anyone from the police department since the police chief’s press conference on June 18.
“We’re optimistic, I guess,” he says. “I certainly hope that the police are doing a great job. I’m sure they are.”
Holtzman and Regier were returning to their condo on the night of June 12 when two men hurled a “barrage” of homophobic slurs at them and physically attacked them.
Regier said the two men, who they found drinking on their doorstep, allegedly turned on them after Holtzman challenged one of them for urinating near the door.
Holtzman said the two men repeatedly called him and Regier “fucking faggots” and “cocksuckers” before attacking them.
It was “non-stop invective” that developed into an attack, Regier said.
“I was huddled up in a fetal position,” Holtzman said. “That’s how vicious the attack was. He hit me in the back of the head at least 50 times.”
The two men ended up at St Paul’s Hospital for treatment. Both sustained concussions. Regier required staples to close a head wound.
Regier told Xtra on June 14 that the initial police response was great, but expressed concern about the follow-up.
“Our expectation is that they will follow up all leads, that they will investigate this thoroughly and professionally, and that they will consider the assault and the hate aspect of this incident,” Regier said.
“It’s now the time to act and respond strongly to this,” he added. “We are hopeful these guys will be found and charges laid.”
“I can tell you that we will not stand down until this crime has been solved,” Vancouver police chief Jim Chu promised at the June 18 press conference.
“We take the suggestion of hate crimes or gaybashing so seriously that they always receive extra attention from our most seasoned investigators,” Chu added.
“We owe our community nothing less. We have a strong relationship with our LGBTQ community,” Chu stressed.
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