COLORADO: Hate crime in Fort Collins

Brian Dunn, a Fort Collins resident, said he was a victim of a hate crime the night of Nov. 17 when a fight began because of name-calling based on his sexual orientation.

"The whole incident started with faggot, that's why it was a hate crime. That's how it was initiated," Dunn said, shortly after coming home from the hospital Tuesday.

But Fort Collins police aren't going as far as to call the fight a hate crime. The fight began because of an "insensitive comment" made during a conversation between the male with whom Dunn fought and the male's girlfriend, Fort Collins police officer Matt Johnson said.

A Federal Bureau of Investigations report found hate crimes in Colorado have increased by 10 percent from 125 incidents in 2005 to 138 in 2006. That's more than the national increase of 8 percent.

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