An East Precinct officer on patrol broke up a fight around 1 a.m. this morning in the 1000 block of E Pine Street. The suspect in the altercation tried to get away by ducking into a nearby restaurant but was foiled by police who quickly spotted and detained him.
The two adult male victims told officers that they were walking past the suspect when he suddenly called them a hateful name and blew cigarette smoke at them. He then proceeded to spit on one of the victims and charged at them, causing the same physical altercation that the alert officer witnessed and disrupted. The victims informed officers that they believe the suspect confronted and attacked them based on their sexual orientation.
The adult male suspect offered several conflicting versions of these events, none of which were convincing.
Officers placed the suspect under arrest and booked him into King County Jail for felony malicious harassment assault.