Transgender woman attacked for 2nd time this year in S.F.
Samantha Hulsey had just caught a movie in the Mission and eaten dinner with her fiancee when for the second time this year, the dangers of being openly transgender — even in San Francisco — were brought home to her in violent, random fashion.
“I was frozen with fear,” said Hopwood, a computer scientist who researches programming languages.
A man was arrested in that attack and charged with several hate-crime-enhanced felonies, including attempted murder.
Sneh Rao, senior policy director at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, said that 79 percent of transgender people the agency surveyed last year reported being the victims of violence in the city, and that 88 percent reported being harassed.
When Hulsey turned to respond, the woman threw a cup of hot coffee in her face, while the man landed a barrage of blows to her shoulder, head and face.
Bystanders flagged down a police officer who arrested two suspects, 36-year-old Dewayne Kemp and Rebbecca Westover, 42.
Westover was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy, battery and a weapons violation, police said.
Kemp was arrested on suspicion of felony counts of aggravated assault, making threats and conspiracy.
Both suspects were booked with hate-crime enhancements at San Francisco County Jail.
The defendant in that case, 54-year-old Brodus Wane Joynes, could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of all the charges he faces.