A 51-year-old man man called police last week to report that he "is being targeted by a street gang that runs University Way," a police report says.

According to the report, the man told officers he was assaulted while riding a Metro bus Assault on February 24th by a group of gang members who have also spread rumors "that he is homosexual, a narcotics agent, and a child molester."

The man told police he was riding the #16 bus at about 5:30 p.m. when he heard a group of men in the back of the bus talking about him. The man walked to the back of the bus and confronted one of the members of the gang, and told him "you gossip like a little girl".

The supposed gang member then stood up and said "what's poppin?"

Both the man and the "gang" got off the bus and and started to fight. One of the gang members punched the man in the face four or five times. The victim then countered by grabbing the suspect by the throat. He then "squeezed and took control of the [suspect's] arm to stop the incoming punches," the report says.

The man made sure to tell police "he used restraint while defending himself" as he "could have killed the assailant because he was in fear of his life, but chose not to."

One of the suspect's friends broke up the fight and both parties separated.

The man told officers he had been assaulted several times by the group and provided police with the name of one of the suspects. The 51-year-old man claims "the "gang members" on the 'Ave' all have pictures of him on their cell phones and ridicule him every time he is on the bus or walking down the 'Ave.'"

In sort of related news, a few years back, I heard a rumor that the East African Posse was running a protection racket on the north end of the Ave. I was never able to nail the story down, but apparently gang activity persists in the U-district.