NYPD Digs Deeper into Druggings and Robberies of Gay Bar Patrons
The NYPD announced that it's going to be looking into cases of drugging and robbery targeting gay bar patrons — some dating back decades — following the deaths of two victims last year.
The NYPD's announcement follows critiques by victims that accuse the city's law enforcement of "not initially tak[ing] their cases as seriously as they had hoped," NBC News reported.
"Under the new initiative, LGBTQ victims whose cases have not been solved, and friends and family members of deceased queer victims, can request that the cases be re-examined by filling out an online form on the NYPD's website," NBC News detailed.
"The form, which appears to be the general form to message the police commissioner, will be reviewed by officials in the NYPD's Detective Bureau, who will then facilitate these requests," the news outlet added.
News of the force's new focus on such crimes "comes more than a year after the deaths of Julio Ramirez and John Umberger, who were killed in April and May of last year," NBC News noted. "Authorities later said their deaths were the result of a drug-induced robbery scheme that involved at least 16 victims, many of them men visiting gay bars."
"We miss Julio and John, and all the LGBTQIA+ victims of crime," Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. "LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers and visitors must be safe and feel safe, especially during Pride Month, and we are hopeful this new process will help solve more cases and answer more questions for communities."
The killings of Ramirez and Umberger sparked investigations and eventually led to a number of arrests. This past March, nearly a year after Ramirez, a 25-year-old student, was found unresponsive in a taxi after leaving a gay bar with three men, a coroner's report ruled that both Ramirez and Umberger were homicide victims, killed by drug overdoses.
The bank accounts of both murder victims were drained of tens of thousands of dollars, with the perpetrators using the victims' own cell phones to commit the robberies.
A number of men stepped forward after the killings to describe how they were assaulted in a similar manner, but survived.
New York police eventually arrested six suspects in connection with the crimes. As previously reported, the suspects included 30-year-old Justin Barroso and 34-year-old Robert DeMaio, both of whom faced charges for the death of Ramirez, with DeMaio also facing charges in Umberger's killing.
The NYPD's new commitment to looking into such cases appears to be a turnaround from how claims of drugging and robbery had previously been met by the force. NBC News reported that a man named Tyler Burt "reported to police that he was robbed of thousands of dollars after visiting a gay bar in Manhattan's East Village," with Burt believing "the men who robbed him also drugged him."
According to Burt, who filed his initial complaint in December of 2021, the department seemed to drag its feet, appearing "unresponsive and 'reluctant' to work on his case," NBC News detailed.
"Immediately upon hearing about the new program, Burt submitted a request for his case to be re-examined," NBC News said. "He said he's not optimistic though, calling the new program a 'PR move,'" the account added.
"Why didn't they pay attention the first time around?" Burt asked the outlet. "Why does it have to be re-examined? Because it was barely examined in the first place?"
NBC News recalled that NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell "pushed back" at a press conference in April "when asked by NBC News whether detectives were initially dismissive because the victims were gay."
Sewell stated at the time, "We will never discriminate against anyone in this city."
Sewell reemphasized that the NYPD will protect and serve all citizens in a June 9 statement, in which he declared that the "New York City Police Department is committed to providing fair and equitable public safety for all."
"To that end, it is critical that we amplify the voices of our LGBTQIA+ community — especially the voices of victims," Sewell added. "This case review process reinforces that work, and in turn makes every community in our city safer."