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The LGBTQ+ community has long been persecuted in the court of public opinion. In addition to religious activists, Law Enforcement Officials and police officers have contributed to hostile situations in gay bars and gay neighborhoods, also known as “fruit joints” and “gayborhoods” [1]. One example of a major controversy between the police and the gay community was Gayola. Gayola, a play on words of Payola, was a form of police extortion where mid-level police officers would collect money from local owners of gay establishments to make a deal not to raid that particular business. John Mindermann, a former police officer for the San Francisco Police Department, was assigned to the gay neighborhood of Polk Gulch when his sergeant asked him to participate in Gayola. Mindermann, a new man on the force, was shocked and didn’t know how to react. He reports that his sergeant justified it by saying “allowing the bar to operate enabled him to locate the city's gay men when he needed to solve violent, gay-related crimes.” [1] This scandal is just one form of the strained relationship between police and the LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco [2].
While there are many examples of brutality and malpractice by the police in this major metropolitan city, not all interactions between the LGBTQ+ community and the police have been negative. There are several examples of positive encounters in Monterey’s history. Although the Monterey area is small there was a “gay-bashing” in a nearby city. On June 18th, 1995, a group of friends were leaving PRIDE in San Francisco when they decided to visit a known gay-friendly restaurant. After the friends ate dinner and spent time remembering the highlights of the evening, they left for home. As they were leaving, a car pulled in front of theirs and a group of men jumped out with crowbars. The men surrounded their vehicle and began smashing the windows and body of the car. They demanded the men give them their wallets and possessions. Fortunately, a good samaritan saw what was happening and called them police. As the police approached, the men fled the scene. The police arrived quickly and made sure to get stories from all of the men involved. The police then gathered statements that three men had been seen around the area of the restaurant, cruising around calling people “fags” and “dykes”. Although the men were never caught, this situation showed the changes in the way the police were handling crimes against the LGBTQ+ community. The police responded quickly and didn't further harass the men simply for being gay [3].
The Paper, Monterey County’s only gay newspaper, discussed in its 5th volume, the bashing of a young gay man. According to the newspaper, the man was approached by Mr. Saboleski and Mr. Maxon and asked “Hey, YOU... are you a fucking queer?” to which the victim responded “Yes”. It was at this point that he was viciously attacked and beaten unconscious. He was saved by two women who began screaming at the bloody sight. The two perpetrators left the unconscious victim for dead. The victim was rushed to medical aid and soon after was able to identify his attackers. During trial, the attackers potentially faced a year long sentence, which they would be unlikely to receive due to this attack being their first offense. In a follow up edition, The Paper, discussed the results of the trial and the controversy surrounding it. The judge appointed to the case was, Judge Phillips, whom ultimately determined that the perpetrators were “guilty of battery- not hate”. This sparked outrage from the LGBTQ+ community. The victim’s father, who had served as a judge for 15 years, also voiced his discontent with the legal proceedings. The public outrage resulted in Judge Phillips having to publicly defend his position. He stated that the reason behind his ruling was that the assailants were already planning on attacking someone that night and their decision to assault someone was not dependent on their sexual orientation. He stated “They could have asked if he was Italian, a Jew, or a Dallas Cowboy fan," insinuating that the attack was not preventable and the question they asked had little to do with whether the would have attacked or not. “Johnathon Maxon and Jason Soboleski were convicted of a felony battery charge but not a felony hate crime for the beating of a gay man in Monterey” [2].
Monterey isn’t the only area that has had to deal with crimes against the LGBTQ+ community. The nation as a whole has gone through a lot with the criminalization of anyone who considers themselves part of the LGBTQ+ community. A gay black man who was repeatedly raped in prison was denied protection because prison officials assumed that the man enjoyed the treatment [4]. In society everyone is separated into hierarchies of social class regardless of how anyone feels about it, this hierarchy transfers to the legal realm where LGBT individuals fall into the class of disfavored people [5]. Even though not everyone feels the injustice everywhere it’s still there and needs to be talked about.
There is a long, complicated history between the LGBT community and Law Enforcement that still exists today in Monterey County. At the 2018 Monterey Pride Parade, the board voted that LGBT police would not be allowed to march in uniform due to the complex history. This shows the ever-changing relationship between the two groups [5]. The police have an increasingly complex relationship with the LGBTQ+ community that has evolved over the years. As more people become open and accepting, the change will also reach Law Enforcement [6].
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References
[1] Christopher Agee, "Gayola: Police Professionalization and the Politics of San Francisco's Gay Bars, 1950-1968," Journal of the History of Sexuality, June 13, 2007, Accessed April 25, 2019. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/216396.
[2] Zachary Zane, "Gay San Francisco Police Officer Sues City in Discrimination Lawsuit." OUT Magazine, August 20, 2018. Accessed May 02, 2019. https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2018/8/20/gay-san-francisco-police-officer-sues-city-discrimination-lawsuit.
[3] Joey L. Mogul, Andrea J. Ritchie, and Kay Whitlock, Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT people in the United States (Boston: Beacon Press, 2011).
[4] Sally Kohn, "Greasing the Wheel: How the Criminal Justice System Hurts Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered People and Why Hate Crime Laws Won't Save Them."[SOURCE]
[5] James Herrera, "Monterey Peninsula Pride to Address Relationship with Local Law Enforcement," Monterey Herald, March 27, 2019. Accessed May 07, 2019. https://www.montereyherald.com/2019/03/27/monterey-peninsula-pride-to-address-relationship-with-local-law-enforcement/.
[6] John Morrison, "Four San Francisco Cops Talk About the Problems Plaguing Their Department,” The Marshall Project, May 26, 2016. Accessed May 02, 2019. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/05/25/four-san-francisco-co ps-talk-ab out-the-problems-plaguing-their-department.
[7] Elaine Bachman, Dan Presser, and Jane Wynn. "Local Women Attacked in San Jose Gay Bashing.,” The Paper (Monterey County), August/September 1995.
[8] John E. Brennan, Marsha Olsen, John Laird, Jane Wynn, Sarah Luiz, Alan Stephenson, "Gay Bashing Victim's Statement," The Paper (Monterey County), May/June 1998.
[9] Jessica Rae, John E Brennan, Andy Handler, John Laird, Bill Main., Marsha Olson, Dan Presser, Craig Wenzl, and Kassi Ydris, "Death Threats Follow Local Man After Bashing," The Paper (Monterey County), September/October 1998.
[10] John E Brennan and Marsha Olson, "Ken Thing" The Paper (Monterey County), March/April 1998.