Milwaukee County Supervisor assaulted at Mayfair Mall; parking dispute
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County Supervisor Peter Burgelis was assaulted after an interaction with a driver on Monday, June 12, at Mayfair Mall.
According to police, Burgelis was struck in the face by a subject while inside a store at the mall. The dispute was over a parking issue that had occurred earlier in the lot.
Burgelis faces a painful recovery after someone attacked him inside the Mayfair Mall.
"I thought I lost a tooth," said Burgelis.
Because his jaw is wired shut, he has to speak slowly.
Peter Burgelis
"The police know who they are looking for," said Burgelis. "I pulled into a parking spot of Mayfair Mall, and I was a little crooked, so I pulled back and straightened out, and someone driving by didn’t like that."
According to Burgelis the unknown driver followed him inside the mall. Burgelis said he walked toward security and thought it was enough to stop the person from following him, but then the attacker showed up later at the checkout line of a store. He said the person called him a gay slur and then punched him from behind.
"I’m about to pay, and then I hear maybe you will talk to me now (expletive) or something similar to that," said Burgelis.
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The Wauwatosa Police Department said officers responded to Mayfair Mall for a report of disorderly conduct. They confirm someone hit Burgelis. Police call it an argument over a parking issue. They said they've identified a person of interest. Burgelis said this won't stop him from advocating for the LQBTQ+ community.
"We know that LGBTQ+ people are 4x more likely to be the victim of a violent crime than people who are not LGBTQ," said Burgelis. "I never thought it would happen to me. And maybe this didn’t happen to me because I’m out, but it still happened. Any kind of violence is unacceptable."
Burgelis said he's grateful for the outpouring of support from the public.
Statement from Forward Latino:
Forward Latino condemns all forms of hate whether based on race, ethnicity, language, country of origin or orientation. Tonight we pray for the full recovery of County Supervisor Peter Burgelis and call for a thorough investigation of this attack.