Gay Man Attacked On CTA Red Line

By Joseph Erbentraut in News on Jan 13, 2010 7:40PM

A Rogers Park man who'd come to the aide of another passenger being hassled on the CTA Red Line was brutally attacked early Sunday morning, sustaining injuries that landed him in the hospital, the Trib reports.

Daniel Hauff, 33, appears to have encountered the attackers - three men he described to be in their 20s - near the Wilson stop, when the train operator apparently halted the train to assess the situation when Hauff activated the emergency passenger intercom. Upon the conductor returning to the head car to continue operating the route, Hauff was reportedly punched, kicked and called "faggot" by the men. They only stopped when he wiped some of his blood on the attackers and claimed he was HIV-positive (though he is not). The attackers were arrested for misdemeanor battery and "making disparaging comments" upon exiting the train at the Argyle stop. Hauff was released from the hospital with minor injuries around 6 a.m.

Hauff faults the CTA for "blowing off" the incident by continuing to drive the train before police had arrived to the scene. In a statement detailing the incident, Wanda Taylor, CTA Media Relations manager, said the operator had "responded appropriately," per their preliminary findings though they will continue to investigate further. Hauff plans to press charges and may pursue hate crime status, though it seems unclear if its against the attackers or the CTA itself.