A Charleston city councilman says he was attacked just after 2 a.m. Monday on the West Side, according to police.
Bernard Slater Jr. was at the Go Mart in the 800 block of Washington Street West, near Stonewall Jackson Middle School, when a group of men attacked him, he told Kanawha County Metro 911 dispatchers, according to Lt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives for the Charleston police.
Slater's nose was injured during the beating, Cooper said. The councilman used a nearby phone to call 911.
Slater told police he didn't know his attackers. He identified them, Cooper said, as a group of black males.
Police are investigating and are asking for any video surveillance from the area that might have captured the incident.
On Monday, Slater told a reporter he had stopped at Go Mart for a pack of cigarettes when he saw the group of men "bullying" another person and told them to stop.
That's when the group turned on him, he said.
"I turned around, put up my hands and said 'I don't wanna fight,' [but they] kept coming at me," Slater said. "They got me on the ground, and that was it."
Slater said his uncle, who was also at the scene, managed to get him into the car after the assault, where they drove to nearby Save-A-Lot and called police to report the incident.
Shortly after, paramedics took Slater, who said he has hemophilia, to the hospital to receive blood.
Slater, a Democrat, was elected last year to the council seat for Ward 1, which includes much of North Charleston west of Patrick Street. He defeated former councilman Pat Jones by two votes in the primary, and then got 150 votes against 97 votes for write-in candidates in the general election.
Slater's criminal history, including three previous arrests on DUI charges, was an issue during his campaign for the City Council last year. Slater told a reporter at the time that he used to struggle with a substance abuse problem but that his "history is not relevant now that I have gave my life to Christ."
After his election, police allegedly found text messages from Slater to a man who was charged with murder for providing heroin to a woman who later died. That man, Steven Coleman, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and a drug charge.
In 2009, Slater was charged with DUI and possession of a controlled substance. A criminal complaint stated that Slater was found slumped over in his car in the parking lot of Southmoor Apartments. Police found a Xanax pill in his car, and he allegedly said he didn't have a prescription for it. Those charges, all misdemeanors, were dismissed as part of a deal with prosecutors.
In 2010, Slater was charged with another DUI after a car crash on Interstate 64/77, near the Greenbrier Street exit in Charleston. He also was charged with having no proof of insurance and driving with his license revoked because of his previous DUI. Slater pleaded guilty to DUI and driving with a suspended license. The insurance charge was dropped as part of his plea, according to court documents.
In March, Slater was charged with second-offense driving under the influence and driving on a revoked license. He was stopped by a policeman on Charleston's East End who saw him driving "well below" the speed limit at 3:30 a.m. on a Friday.
Staff writer Elaina Sauber contributed to this report.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.