Police say they have arrested a man who committed a series of attacks on the transgender community in Atlanta, but members of that community are questioning why they were not told about the string of violent attacks until after an arrest was made, according to a report.
Michael Boykin, 28, was arrested on outstanding warrants for aggravated assault, criminal trespass, battery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He also faces charges for possession of drug-related objects, FOX5 Atlanta reported.
"Mr. Boykin, I've been looking for you," the arresting officer said to Boykin in a bodycam video. "For what!?!" Boykin responds, according to FOX5.
Police said that Boykin is a suspect in multiple assaults that targeted transgender individuals in Atlanta and was arrested as part of a canvas of an area, the station reported. Boykin, arrested on December 16, has not yet been charged with hate crimes.
Members of the transgender community in Atlanta were heavily critical of the department for not alerting the community about Boykin until after her was arrested.
"It's insane that these assaults were happening, and no one alerted us," Toni Bryce said to 11 ALIVE. "We need to know what's happening in our community. For that to happen multiple times and us not know is a problem."
Bryce continued: "How many (attacks) have there been? What was the issue? Where did these things happen? We absolutely need to know."
Police declined to comment on an ongoing investigation, according the the news outlet, adding that incident reports are expected to be released once they are finalized.
"We are people. We're human beings beyond gender identity," Bryce told 11 ALIVE. "It's like your child, your brother, your sister – we are all of those things as well."
