Man charged with assault after disorder during Birmingham Pride celebrations
A man has been charged over an assault that took place in a city centre pub during Birmingham Pride celebrations.
23-year-old Jack Dalton, from Birmingham, was arrested following the incident at a pub in Hurst Street, near the Arcadian, on Friday night (24 May).
Police were called to the pub at approximately 6pm where they were told that a man had assaulted several people inside the venue and had left the scene.
Police say they are treating the incident as a hate crime.
Three men, aged 30, 31 and 34, were assaulted and their injuries are not believed to be serious or life threatening.
Dalton has been remanded in custody and will appear before Birmingham Magistrates’ Court tomorrow (27 May).
West Midlands Police says the assault happened during their policing and partner operation for Birmingham Pride this weekend.
Chief Inspector Richard Evans, from Birmingham police, said: "We will not tolerate hate crime in our city.
"People should be able to visit the city without fear of being subjected to violence and threats.
"Planning for Pride takes place months in advance and the focus is to provide a highly visible presence around the Pride site, to make people feel safe and to prevent crime.
"We take hate crime very seriously and would encourage people to come forward if they've experienced a hate crime.
"While we’d prefer victims to come to us directly, we know that for a variety of reasons, some people do not want to speak with officers preferring to report crimes anonymously or not at all."
Help and support
If you or someone you know has experienced a hate crime or hate incident, you can get help from hate crime support services.
You can get help from Victim Support - this is an independent charity that can:
listen to you and give you emotional support
give you practical help - for example, if you need to repair damage caused by a hate crime or move house if you're being harassed
help you deal with the legal system - for example, if you're going to court
Get support from Victim Support on their website.
You can also report it to the police.
If you want to report the crime or incident to the police, it's a good idea to contact a hate crime support service first. They can help you work out what to say in your report.
Check how to report a hate crime to the police.
If you don't want to talk to the police, you can ask an independent organisation to report it for you anonymously. These organisations are called 'third party reporting centres'.
In an emergency, you should call 999.
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