New Yorker claims he was gay-bashed while nearby police did nothing

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New Yorker claims he was gay-bashed while nearby police did nothing

A New Yorker claims that he was the victim of a hate crime and the police just stood by and watched even as blood was pouring from his wounds.

The New York Post reports that Omar Villalobos, a Hell’s Kitchen resident, was walking with his female friend along 42nd Street when he was accosted by a “crazed” man near Bryant Park.

Villalobos claims the assailant began to hurl homophobic hate speech at him before punching him in the face.

Injured, Villalobos alleges there were six police officers only a few feet away, but they did nothing to help.

“I was holding one side of my face, blood pouring down my hand and onto my white shirt…and not one of them did anything about it,” he told The Post. “They said they were there for terrorist attacks, not homeless people.”

His attacker, who Villalobos describes as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man, didn’t try to run after the assault.

After the attack Villalobos says that the girl he was with, Natasha Dalanah approached the officers as well.

“Natasha was trying to get the cops to arrest him, and then two bystanders even came over to try and get [the officers] to help, and one of the cops goes, ‘All they’re going to do is put him in the mental clinic and then he’ll be back on the street in no time.’”

Villalobos says he decided to go to the hospital, but before getting in a cab, his friend tried again to plead with police for help, but it was clear they weren't going to respond.

“’Are you really not going to do anything about it?’” Villalobos recalls Natasha asking the officers, “And one of the officers goes, ‘Does it look like we’re helping, find someone who cares.’”

Villalobos received six stitches as a result of the assault.

The Post spoke to the New York police sources who say they will investigate Villalobos’ claims through their Hate Crimes Task Force.

However, the sources claim they will not look into how the police officers behaved at the scene, instead they will focus on finding the assailant.

*Photo courtesy of New York Post. The image appears to have Villalobos' injuries on both sides of his face, however this could be a mirror effect that some phones default to when taking selfies.