Gay slurs and beating on 'L' train are alleged

Chicago, IL - A Rogers Park man said three men yelled gay slurs at him and beat him up on a Red Line train around 3 a.m. Sunday near the Argyle stop.

Victim Daniel Hauff, 33, said he tried to quell an argument between two men on the northbound train when one of those men - joined by two other male riders - began yelling gay slurs and other taunts at him.

Hauff said he pressed the emergency intercom and the train operator came by, but the left and the train started moving again.

After the operator left the "L" car, the three men punched his face and pummeled his body somewhere between the Wilson and Argyle stops, Hauff said."

"And I never once threw a punch," Hauff said. "It's just not in my nature."

Hauff said he got away by wiping some of his blood on the attackers and telling them he was HIV-positive, which he said is not true.

Police said three men were arrested in the 1100 block of West Argyle on suspicion of battering the victim and "making disparaging comments," though the report had nothing specific about anti-gay comments. Police said the suspects were released today on bond.

Hauff said another passenger took photographs and made a statement to police.

The victim said he was hospitalized and released around 6 a.m. Sunday. He said his face, chest, back, knee and foot were in pain, and he was seeing double on the left side, but he had no broken bones.

Hauff said the operator should have stayed at the scene before the altercation escalated. The police should have been called earlier, he added.

CTA spokeswoman Katelyn Thrall confirmed that there was an incident on the Red Line around 3 a.m. Sunday, but had few additional details about the crime.

"The operator appropriately called the police" promptly and arrests were made at the Argyle stop, based on "preliminary information," Thrall said.

Written by: Angie Leventis Lourgos