Woman is beaten in front of her daughter

Woman is beaten in front of her daughter

ATLANTA (AP) -- Federal authorities are investigating the beating of a black Army reservist outside a Georgia restaurant as a possible hate crime. FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett says the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights division has started a probe of the Sept. 9 incident at a Cracker Barrel in Morrow. Police say 47-year-old Troy D. West, who is white, became enraged after Tashawnea Hill told him to "be careful" when he nearly hit her 7-year-old daughter while opening the restaurant's door. Police say West punched and kicked the 35-year-old Hill while screaming racial slurs. West, who is out on $5,000 bond, has not returned several calls for comment. Hill says she is still in shock. She was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries. _Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed._