 |
The gall. Charging people with crimes committed. |
Posted on 06/16/2004 1:54:50 PM PDT by KMC1
DETROIT - Sexual profiling was the charge by homosexual activists after the Michigan State Police conducted a sting operation on a bathroom on northbound U.S.127. The sting resulted in 12 arrests on charges ranging from solicitation, indecent exposure, and criminal sexual conduct.
Those that were arrested claimed "sexual profiling" because of the timing of the sting. The arrests all immediately preceeded the impending "Michigan Pride Week". Those arrested and charged claim harrassment and discrimination. The State Police respond by saying that their attention was brought to this specific restroom by complaints from the community.
They also claim no targeting was done for any specific group of people. Those that committed crimes, in the eyes of the police, were charged with doing so.
(Excerpt) Read more at kmc.crosswalk.com ...
Imagine that... targeting GAYS for gay behavior!
|
The gall. Charging people with crimes committed. |
Homophobe! ///wiseguy mode off
The only kind of profiling I need.
Man FOAD will now be a come on line?
This is sick, I need to go read some Reagan Memorial threads just to get my head straight.
Sorry, I prefer that "Shining City on a Hill" to Hollywood and the left coast, if we can't get States Rights without Bloodshed, maybe we can float County Rights?
NAUGHT!!@!
Bring it on CA and your nanny laws too!
This is an outrage. They only arrested 12 of these perverts? That is an atrocity.
It's going to get worse before it gets better (if it ever gets better) people. Now that the government, controlled by the judges, has freely admitted governmental wrong doing to these "sexual minorities" the next thing these litigious people will do is sue for reparations. They have very meticulously been building premises and setting precedents. Pretty soon, the public is going to have to snap out of their aversion to joining this debate. But I don't know, they won't stand up even while their children are being indoctrinated into this perversity. Maybe they will care more about their pocketbooks though.
Police sting Holt restroom
Timing, place of operation leaves gays questioning
By JACLYN ROESCHKE
The State News
Accusations of sexual profiling and entrapment arose after a Michigan State Police sting operation at a Holt-area restroom late last week.
Michigan State Police said the sting, which took place on Thursday and Friday at the restroom on northbound U.S. 127, resulted in the arrests of 12 men on charges of criminal sexual conduct, indecent exposure and solicitation to commit an immoral act.
The arrests came shortly before the start of Michigan's Pride Weekend, area gay activists to believe targeting and profiling of gay men was involved in the sting operation.
"There has to be a connection between this operation and the weekend it was carried out," Todd Heywood, a Lansing resident who was briefly detained in the sting, said.
Though Heywood, a member of the gay-rights activist group Triangle Foundation, was not charged, he said officers made disparaging comments to him while targeting him for misconduct.
State Police Lt. Gary Nix said undercover officers were planted at the restroom in response to citizen complaints.
"We had received a number of citizen complaints," Nix, the Lansing post commander, said, adding officers have been stationed at the scene in the past. "People said they were being accosted, assaulted and propositioned and there were just people doing gross things in the restroom."
He said the operation wasn't implemented specifically for Pride Weekend, and said the sting was not an attack on the gay community.
"Some people want to put that spin on it," said Nix, adding suspects names have not been released. "This was not to target gay people. It was law enforcement against people committing lewd acts."
Nix said stings of this magnitude have taken place in the area before, but would not give specifics regarding where they took place or the number of officers involved. He also would not say the frequency of the operations or how many complaints police had received.
But some, such as Heywood, disagree with Nix's views on the timing of the sting around Pride Weekend.
Heywood arrived at the rest area at about midnight on Friday. He proceeded into the restroom and used the facilities before leaving to smoke a cigarette. When he was finished smoking, Heywood went back into the restroom and then out again.
As he began to leave the second time, his car was pinned into the parking lot by two unmarked vehicles - a silver van and a red car.
An officer in the passenger seat of the red vehicle approached him and made him get out of the car before frisking him, Heywood said.
"I was so terrified because I didn't know how many officers there were," Heywood said.
As the officer brought out his handcuffs, Heywood said another officer got out of the silver van and said to the man arresting Heywood, "No, no, that's the wrong fag. He is cool."
Heywood has filed a formal complaint against the police department and said he plans to discuss the case with an attorney.
Nix said he does not believe the derogatory comment was made, but added the Michigan State Police are investigating the incident.
Sting operations of this magnitude have been occurring for years, Sean Kosofsky, the Triangle Foundation's director of policy, said. Kosofsky said the operations are deliberate attacks against homosexuals.
"These types of police acts are typically called a 'bag a fag' operation," Kosofsky said. "It is illegal profiling behavior and an attempt to fabricate a problem. It's like, if you're gay and using a rest area, you are there for sex."
Kosofsky said officers typically "bait" men in restrooms by smiling and eyeing them, thus coercing the men into criminal misconduct. Nix said his officers don't set out to entrap or entice anyone.
Because of this coercion, many Michigan residents have taken precincts to court in an attempt to challenge the practices they believe are unfair.
ACLU Lansing Chapter President Henry Silverman said undercover operations are generally viewed as harassment by members of the gay community.
"There is certainly a history on the part of police of singling out gays for particular actions," Silverman said, adding he had not heard of the particulars of Heywood's case.
Cases are many times thrown out before suspects are charged in a court proceeding, Silverman said. The process of arresting, but not carrying through on the charges is where the harassment comes in, he said.
"There are better ways to protect the public," Silverman said. "Unfortunately, we live in a macho society with prejudice and homophobia - and the police certainly aren't exempt from that."
Location: http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=24425
Must have been a small restroom, huh?
Triangle Foundation Advocacy Staff: From left: Sean Kosofsky, Heather MacAllister, Jeffrey Montgomery
Todd Heywood, Lansing Community College Board's only gay member
Probably one stall.
What's that in the middle? Commander Data?
Oh, C'MON!!
Should we not target the drug-selling street corners because it would be "job profiling"?
How many special considerations do they think we're going to tolerate? This is oppression, and I'm not talking about the "gay" community, either. They just push, and push, then push some more...it does not make me love them; in fact, it makes me really angry.
He's right, of course. 
Clearly that would constitute evidence of their oppression as a result of this homophobic, right-wing tyranny that is the Bush administration.
Crime fighting without profiling? Example APB: "Be on the lookout for a person in a vehicle who may have done something wrong somewhere."
In other words, they were targeting "gay" people.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.