![]() ![]() ![]() So far, decoys have been called names but none has been attacked. There have been no arrests in five sting operations, but police say that publicity about the program helps deter attacks.ĭecoy officers walk in and out of gay bars while police watch from unmarked cars and a van equipped with listening equipment and a camera. Police there started the stings about two years ago to thwart attacks near gay bars on Broadway, where the fatal 1990 stabbing of a gay man symbolized to many activists a climate of violence against gays. ![]() No one at the forum opposed the idea, and many rose to praise the Long Beach vice program. The televised forum was planned as a way to gauge support within the gay community for undercover operations, which traditionally have been viewed as a way to harass patrons of gay bars. That would be the west end of Santa Monica Boulevard, a stretch noisy with gay bars and the site of the sheriff’s substation.īoth groups liked the Long Beach strategy. At the top was a call for more sheriff patrols where bashings are most prevalent. “It’s uncomfortable-I’ll agree to that.”Ī month after losing the election, the group presented a wish list to City Council members Abbe Land and John Heilman and safety officials. In the meantime we’re going to work together,” he said. “It’s no secret that we’re going to bring (the city police proposal) back in ’94. The bottom line, though, was that we all want better law enforcement,” said John Underwood, spokesman for the initiative group, called West Hollywood Citizens for Better Police Protection. The ballot group, which joined the city in sponsoring the forum, promises another election next year, but in order to fight gay-bashing it is now burying the hatchet with officials who opposed the initiative. The campaign charged that gays are too often brushed off by the Sheriff’s Department. The session Allison attended marked a truce between city public-safety officials and the group that unsuccessfully pushed the ballot measure to create a city police department last year. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |