Victim of hate crime arrested on warrant

The victim of last week's alleged hate crime in Bloomington has been arrested for pending assault and battery charges in another county, officials from the Bloomington Police Department announced Wednesday night.\n"To say this victim has some shortcomings is an understatement," said BPD Captain Joe Qualters. "Whether (the altercation) was instigated by the victim, we don't know."\nThe 25-year-old Bloomington resident and his wife were attacked by several men on North Walnut Street in the early hours of April 18. The attackers shouted racial slurs at the two newlyweds before hitting the man over the head with a skateboard, rendering him unconscious.\nBPD originally described the victim as black, based on the nature of the comments made against him. However, police later recanted this description.\nQualters said the victim originally did not wish to report the attack. Instead, the police learned of the incident from Bloomington Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries.\nQualters described the victim as an "uncooperative witness." After BPD assigned a detective to investigate the possibility of a hate crime, he did not return phone calls.\n"That sets off some red flags in my mind," Qualters said.\nPolice discovered the man had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in another county on preliminary charges of assault and battery and arrested him.