CLEVELAND — A Cleveland woman is still recovering from getting punched in the face on her way to Cleveland Pride's Festival Saturday.
Michelle Trickley said she was walking with her wife and stepchildren, and stopped at a booth selling pride merchandise.
According to Cleveland police, after trying to bargain with vendor Theo Bishop, he looked at Trickley and said, "I don't normally do this," then punched her in the face.
“My stepdaughter really wanted a bracelet. He was overcharging for the bracelet. I said, ‘Nah, we’ll go elsewhere’. He didn’t like it," she said.
Trickley has a broken jaw, fractured skull and multiple stitches on her face. She said doctors told her she may need her wisdom teeth removed, and her jaw will be wired shut for a minimum of four weeks.
“Blows like that kill people everyday. Thank God that she’s here. It’s a miracle," said Trickley's wife, Lisa Motil. “Love did not win that day.”
Police charged Bishop with felonious assault.
LGBT Greater Cleveland released the following statement to News 5:
“We were devastated to learn that a member of our community was attacked by an unauthorized street vendor while traveling to Pride on Saturday. We’ve spoken to the person who was injured and we hope they make a speedy, full recovery.
“While this attack didn’t happen at our Pride in the CLE festival and didn’t involve any of our festival vendors, we at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland do recognize the urgency to stand up to all forms of violence and hate against members of our community. That starts with refusing to accept hate speech, eliminating all forms of discrimination, and standing united against violence. We invite our community to join us in this work.”
