ATLANTA, Ga. — An Atlanta man has been arrested in the violent attack on a same-sex couple last March that caused one of the victims to be thrown into oncoming traffic.
Atlanta police arrested Diego Ernesto Ramirez, 23, for “Battery Substantial Physical Harm” on Thursday as first reported by Project Q Atlanta. Ramirez has a prior arrest for battery from May 2013.
The arrest follows a month-long GA Voice investigation into the Atlanta Police Department’s handling of hate crimes committed against the LGBT community.
Sources say Ramirez, who has a prior arrest for battery in May 2013, was in a relationship with the male driver, who initially told Atlanta police he did not know the suspect.
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The arrest reportedly came after a tipster contacted Crime Stoppers following media coverage of the incident.
The incident occurred March 7, 2014, when the suspect allegedly jumped out of a car and called the the couple, who were holding hands, “faggots” before punching one of the men in the back of the head and then pushing him into oncoming traffic.
A car swerved into another lane and avoided the victim, who was able to avoid major injuries.
The incident was caught on nearby security cameras and the victims recorded cell phone video of the suspect, the driver of the car, and the license plate.
One of the victims is Bryan Long, the executive director of the progressive political advocacy organization Better Georgia; his partner has requested to remain anonymous.