Man attacked in Atlanta for being gay becomes first responder in Chamblee

WSBTV.com News Staff
·3 min read
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In 2012, Brandon White was attacked in an Atlanta neighborhood. The crime, which his attackers recorded and uploaded online, showed that he was attacked because he was gay.

Just before the holidays in November 2023, he became an officer with the Chamblee Police Department, transitioning from hate crime victim to first responder.

When footage of the attack was uploaded online by his attackers, the video went viral, according to City of Chamblee officials.

That’s when White learned he’d been attacked by strangers simply due to his sexual orientation, which is a hate crime.

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“I didn’t know any of the attackers,” now-Officer White said. “I didn’t know why they attacked me until I saw the video and learned that it was motivated by my sexuality. They felt like they didn’t want gays in their neighborhood.”

White worked with officers from the Atlanta Police Department and other agencies who investigated the hate crime. His case, according to Chamblee officials, was the first in Georgia to be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office under the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2010, a federal law that added a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status, as reasons for an attack to be deemed a hate crime.

Four of the six people who attacked White have been charged and convicted, officials said.

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White credited members of the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office and Greg Smith from Here’s to Life as “instrumental throughout the entire process towards the fight for justice.” He said that while he grew up in Atlanta’s West side, he’d though police weren’t there to help.

“Working with APD, the GBI, and the United States Attorney’s Office gave me a completely different outlook to show that law enforcement is there to help you and to better your community,” White said.

After his experience, he eventually started applying to join a law enforcement agency. Chamblee officials said he started working toward this goal in 2019, but had difficulty moving forward due to his driving record.

Eventually, he was asked to speak on a panel about hate crimes, discrimination and harassment by the USAO at the Chamblee Police Department this past June. There, he met the department’s interim police chief, Gary Yandura, where he said he wanted to join the force.

Saying the department was a big believer in second chances, Yandura encouraged White to apply and he was hired about a month later. On Nov. 17, 2023, White graduated from the police academy.

“Being a police officer has truly been a whirlwind adventure and an eye opener,” White said. “My message is Stop the Hate, look within and know your worth. What one person decides to do with their lifestyle isn’t going to impact you at the end of the day.”

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