Posted on 07/03/2006 11:56:28 AM PDT by CedarDave
A Santa Fe man says he was humiliated and bullied when police raided an Albuquerque gay bathhouse Saturday night to serve a felony arrest warrant for liquor violations.
Officers from the Department of Public Safety, state police and the Albuquerque fire marshal's office raided Pride Gym in northwest Albuquerque around 10 p.m. and arrested manager Ron Cordova on suspicion of selling and dispensing alcohol without a liquor license, DPS spokesman Peter Olson said.
The DPS Special Investigation Division and local authorities have been cracking down on businesses around New Mexico that are selling alcohol illegally or selling to those who are underage...
But according to Santa Fe resident Brian Eckert, of the 10 to 12 times he has been to the bathhouse in the last year, he has never been sold liquor, seen anyone drinking liquor or seen anyone bring liquor into the bathhouse. He said officers with semiautomatic weapons and wearing bullet-proof vests raided the bathhouse, forced customers to lie facedown and handcuffed them with plastic ties at gunpoint.
``This is a message of violence to the gay community,'' Eckert said. ``Take out the gay context, and imagine if officers with machine guns raided an 18-and-under establishment because they heard they were selling liquor and made all the children get facedown on the ground, cuffed their hands behind their backs and pointed guns at their heads? Do you think anyone would stand for that?''
Eckert and a friend, who did not want his name published because of safety concerns, were at Pride Gym when they heard banging doors, yelling and footsteps. Each was wearing a towel, but other customers were naked as officers forced them to the floor, Eckert said. His friend gave the same account. Both said they were not cited.
(Excerpt) Read more at freenewmexican.com ...
The police department was just doing their job, get off the "oh they are gay thats why this went this far." get over it, if they have a warrant that is just normal procedures...
All you touchy feely liberals feel like anyone and everyone who is "mistreated" by the police are done so becasue they are "different." Based on the detials of the article... serving a warrant requires officers to be ready for anything. Imagine the fire power available to bad guys (gay or straight or brown or purple), and the police are coming in to do somehting the bad guys dont want. Police must protect themselves....
Phil M. your suggestion that the police might just "want to get some gay people" seems very valid to me in light of the photographs from Abu Graibe where our lovely female soldier delights in having Iraqis masturbate.
For a few of them, that may have been the sexual high point of their day.
Just in case there were any flamers there.
Awwwww, the poor homosexual was feeling "humiliated and bullied." Probably while drinking illegally-sold liquor. Idiot. Thankfully, they can't procreate.
What happens when you create a protected minority? A group of people who are totally outraged when you later try to enforce any infraction on their part.
Any NYT "reporters" caught?
One customer was arrested on an unspecified warrant during the raid, and five other customers were issued alcohol-related citations, Olson said. The fire marshal's office closed the building because of numerous fire-code violations, he said.
Though nothing is said in the article, they were probably looking for drugs, also.
They may have a different lifestyle, but the ATF cannot be trusted; especially in the Texas/New Mexico region.
I thought places like this only existed where martin lives. :)
I hope the cops used their truncheons.
Don't you normally have to pay extra for that?
Sounds like the feds were not involved with this raid.
Rub-a-dub-dub,
you're busted Bub.
To be honest, if I had to deal with a bunch of naked f**ots I'd make them lay face down too. Not that the view is a great deal better in that position...
Sure they can, and a majority do.
Eckert and a friend, who did not want his name published because of safety concerns, were at Pride Gym when they heard banging doors, yelling and footsteps (which is nothing out of the ordinary). Each was wearing a towel, but other customers were naked as officers forced them to the floor, Eckert said. His friend gave the same account. Both said they were not excited.
Ugh.
They're part of a franchise that began in Rome, landed in 'Frisco, and whose evil is spreading to other cities.
Not unlike Sbarro.
Oh he's just upset because his squeeze got locked up
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