Suspect Dillan Cashman
  • Suspect Dillan Cashman
Portland Police report that they've made an arrest in an apparently anti-gay assault that occurred last night. Here's the press release:
On Sunday July 24, 2011, at 4:48 a.m., Portland Police officers assigned to Central Precinct responded to the report of an assault in Lovejoy Park, located in the 200 block of Southwest Harrison Street.

Officers arrived and spoke with 30-year-old Andrew Dempsey-Gluth who told police that he was walking through the park with another male and that they had their arms wrapped around each other as they walked. The victim told officers that they were approached by two males, one of which began insulting them with anti-gay slurs. The victim and his friend left the area but the victim later returned to contact the suspect who was using anti-gay slurs. The victim saw the suspect on a balcony next to the park so the victim told the suspect that his comments were out of line. The suspect left the apartment, came out to the park, and assaulted the victim.

The suspect, 21-year-old Dillan Joseph Cashman, was arrested at his apartment and charged with Intimidation in the Second Degree and Assault in the Fourth Degree.

I have a call in asking what happened to the victim—it's not clear whether he's in the hospital. UPDATE: The police say the Dempsey-Gluth did not go to the hospital but was knocked down in the incident and sustained "bruises and scratches."

In sad timing, this happened just a day after an LGBT march called We Are Not Afraid brought several hundred people downtown. Read more about that march over at Just Out.

More reporting on previous anti-gay assaults from December 2010, June 2010 and June 2011.