Suffolk County Sued For "Beaner Hopping"
Marcelo Lucero was a 37 year old Ecuadorean national who was assaulted by seven teenagers while walking home in Pachogue, Long Island. One of the teens, Jeffrey Conroy, pulled a knife out of his boxer shorts and stabbed Marcelo in the chest, leaving him bleeding on the street to die. The tragic death was the result of “Beaner Hopping”, a practice that had gone on for years in Suffolk County, New York.
When the police allow high school toughs to beat up on minorities for so long there is a local term for it, likely the government has failed in its duty. Government’s first responsibility is to protect those who live under its jurisdiction. Prior complaints to the police about ethnic intimidation went unanswered or the police took the story of the White perpetrator over the Latino victim, according to allegations. That is the theory behind a 40 million dollar law suit filed against Suffolk County.
Jordan Dasch, one of the seven teens, said he didn't participate in "Beaner Hopping" very often. At most, the hobby was "not more than once a week". He and his friends knocked Latinos off of bicycles, shot them with BB guns and particpated in gang beatings.
Seven youths arrested for "Beaner Hopping"
On the night of Lucero's death, Conroy's pals didn't know he had used a knife until they had left the scene, a fact that limited their prison terms to seven years.
The county insists it is innocent because many of the hate crimes against Latinos were not reported to the police. The excuse is, at best, lame. The emergency room reports alone would have told the story. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center the County has a long history of abuse.
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