32 charged with alleged racial assaults

DENVER, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Denver police say 32 young black men and teenagers have been charged with a series of racial attacks on white and Hispanic men.

Investigators said most of the suspects have ties to gangs, either the Rollin' 60s Crips or the Black Gangster Disciples, The Denver Post reported.

The arrests followed a four-month investigation into a series of assaults in downtown Denver, police said. White and Hispanic men said they were approached by groups of four or five blacks who would attempt to provoke them into a fight with verbal attacks, including racial references.

The victims were usually assaulted and some were robbed of money, cell phones and iPods, police said. Victims were usually hit in the head, leaving them with broken noses or eye sockets, Police Chief Gerry Whitman said.

Whitman said the attacks do not appear to have been planned by one person. But he said the attackers were clearly in communication with one another.

"We have seen coordinated efforts before, but not by this large of a group," Whitman said.

Six assaults and robberies captured by security cameras were not reported to police and may be related, investigators said.