By George P. Hassett

Allegations by five Somerville women that they were harassed and assaulted because of their sexual orientation outside a Magoun Square bar on Nov. 18 and then rebuffed by responding police officers when they called for help are without merit, according to witnesses and video store surveillance, a Somerville police investigation concluded this week.

“[The incident] is just not what it was made out to be,” Capt. Paul Upton said.

On Nov. 18 the five women were in On the Hill Tavern, a Magoun Square bar. Also in the bar was Richard Malloy, of Methuen.

One of the women, Lisa Deloia, told city officials she and her friends were attacked by Malloy and she was briefly knocked unconscious. She said Malloy shouted homophobic slurs at her and her friends while they waited in line at the Dunkin’ Donuts at the corner of Medford Street and Broadway in Somerville, then followed the group back to one woman’s home a block away and continued shouting at them. When they told Malloy to leave, Deloia claimed he turned violent – punching the women repeatedly.

Malloy allegedly fled before police arrived and when officers did come on the scene they were unhelpful and dismissive of Deloia and her charges, according to Don Gorton of the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project.

“The initial police response was only cursory. There were no reports filed and the involved parties were allowed to leave the scene,” he said. “These women were subject to violence and the police essentially told them to take a hike.”

In a Nov. 24 letter to then-Acting Chief Robert R. Bradley, Gorton and the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, complained about the police response on behalf of the alleged victims and claimed the incident was a hate crime.

Deloia and the other women involved also met with State Rep. Carl M. Sciortino, D-Somerville and Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone to raise their concerns.

Upton said Bradley immediately ordered a complete investigation by the Somerville Police Detective Unit and the Office of Professional Standards to determine if the incident was a violation of civil rights and if the police response was appropriate. 

Lead investigator Michael Mulcahy reviewed surveillance video from a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts and interviewed 11 witnesses involved in the case, police said. In the department’s conclusion, released Tuesday, he determined the women’s allegations were without merit and a hate crime had not occurred.
In it he wrote ‚ÄúAfter reviewing Somerville Police Officer Robert Driscoll’s initial police report, securing and viewing security/surveillance videos rom Dunkin’ Donuts located at 504 Broadway and interviewing the above referenced witnesses and involved parties, it is the opinion of the Family Services Unit that probable cause to support the allegations of Civil Rights Violations with injury as defined by Mass. General Law Chapter 265, section 39 does not exist in this matter.‚Äù 

Upton, the department’s  spokesman said the opinion was based on the lack of key criminal elements required to satisfy the hate crime statute. He said it does not appear that Malloy ever verbally confronted or physically assaulted any of the women due to their homosexuality. 

He said some of the allegations made by Deloia and her companions contradicted one another and the video evidence. On the Dunkin Donuts surveillance video Malloy  at no time appeared to be threatening or abusive, he said. 

By all witness accounts, police said, the alleged perpetrator did not assault or threaten anyone inside Dunkin’ Donuts. 

At some point, police admit, there was a physical altercation between Malloy and the women. However, according to Mulcahey’s investigation, it was Malloy who may have been a victim that night.

Mulcahey contended that based on statements from Malloy and his sister, they were both victims of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon when one of the women threw hot chocolate in his face.

However, Gorton said the women were defending themselves when they threw hot chocolate at Malloy and the entire police investigation, he said, raises more questions about the incident than answers.

‚ÄúI can’t say I’m satisfied with this outcome,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúThe Somerville police seem to be equaling self-defense to counter violence and they fail to get to the bottom of what really happened that night.‚Äù

Gorton said Deloia and the women were punched to the point of bruising and they have pictures to back up those assertions. Somerville police, he said, do not appear to understand the hate crime statute and the elements used to prove the crime.

After Mitt Romney disbanded a special commission that trained officers in recognizing and investigating hate crimes, Gorton said local police have been increasingly unable to properly investigate hate crimes.

The Nov. 18 incident in Magoun Square, he said, is just one example.

“I have seen it statewide,” he said. “If there is a villain here it is not the Somerville Police Department. It is former Governor Mitt Romney.

However, Gorton said the system did fail Deloia and her friends and sent a chilling message to Somerville citizens in the process.

“Is Somerville going to prosecute hate crimes? These women were beaten by a 225 pound man, what more will it take? It is understandable the Somerville police have trouble identifying a hate crime with the cuts by Romney. But only the victims are left to suffer,” he said.

Sciortino declined to comment until he could gather more information on the police investigation. Curtatone spokesman Tom Champion directed all questions regarding the incident to the police department.