TEXAS: Fort Worth Seeks Gay Cops

(Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

ARIZONA: Gay Sheriff Paul Babeu Leads Protest Against Migrant Children

In 2012 the Mexican ex-boyfriend of Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu sued him for $1M, alleging that Babeu had threatened to have him deported if the boyfriend were to out him.  Babeu's run for the US House fizzled shortly thereafter, but not before it was revealed that he spoken at an event staged by a group that wants to end illegal and most legal immigration and wants to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States. Today Babeu is believed be one of the organizers behind an anti-immigration rally taking place in Oracle, Arizona, where busloads of migrant children will be delivered to a federal holding facility. Supporters of the children and anti-immigrant protesters are facing off at this writing. According to this live blog, in the photo Babeu is handing out flyers in support of the protesters' First Amendment right to scream at the children.

(Tipped by JMG reader Homer)

SOUTH CAROLINA: Lesbian Police Chief Re-Sworn In After Firing For Being Gay

Earlier this week I reported that the citizens of a small South Carolina town had overwhelming voted to override their mayor and reinstate their lesbian police chief, Crystal Moore, after the mayor fired her for being gay. But the reinstatement did have a hiccup.

The council had planned to reinstate her as soon as the ballots were certified, but on Wednesday, Bullard surprised everyone by announcing he had just hired someone else for the job. "I have went from being ecstatic, overwhelmed, not able to speak, to crushed again," Moore told WPDE NewsChannel 15 after Bullard's move. Bullard, meanwhile, said it was time for the town to move on. "The town has to continue. The town has to go on, we can't dwell on what happened in the past. The only thing that we can do is try to move forward," he said. "And in that, the way to move forward is to put someone in place permanently." Things changed again on Friday night, though, as the council determined Bullard had broken local laws by unilaterally hiring a police chief without their consent. They declared his hire invalid and immediately reinstated Moore.

Moore tells MSNBC that she only recently learned that in 29 states it remains legal to fire someone for being gay.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Small Town Votes To Give Job Back To Lesbian Police Chief

Back in April the openly lesbian police chief of a small South Carolina town was fired by the mayor, who was caught on tape saying that he'd rather have an alcoholic in the job than someone "whose lifestyle is questionable." Last night the town's voters slapped the mayor down. Via the Morning News:

Dozens of Latta residents danced and cheered in front of the town’s community center Tuesday night as election officials announced a referendum to change the town’s form of government to strong council was approved, 328-147. Though the results will not become official until the ballots are certified at 11 a.m. Friday, for many town residents, Tuesday’s vote was an instant victory because it will allow town council to reinstate Crystal Moore as Latta’s police chief. Moore was abruptly fired in April by Mayor Earl Bullard after she refused to sign seven unexplained reprimands that he presented to her on the same day. “This is our town,” a grinning Tammy Taylor said, between cheers and high-fives. “We got our town back. We got our chief back.”

Moore is elated: "I am so excited. The town came out and spoke up for what was right, not just for me, but for the whole town."

SOUTH CAROLINA: Town Outraged After Mayor Fires Police Chief For Being Gay

Residents of a small South Carolina town turned out to support their police chief after she was apparently fired by the mayor because she is a lesbian.

About 100 residents of this small Dillon County town showed up for a special meeting of the town council Thursday night, all with one subject on their mind: Crystal Moore’s firing from the police chief post by Mayor Earl Bullard. Bullard made it clear before the meeting that Moore’s firing wasn’t on the agenda, and he wasn’t going to talk about it. But that didn’t stop Councilwoman Lutherine Williams and other council members. When the official meeting adjourned, they simply moved it outside. “All of these citizens came out tonight to be heard,” Williams said after Bullard refused to hear from anyone on the Moore matter. “You did not have to be standing in corners and out in the hallway,” she said to the standing room-only audience, many of which were forced to listen to the meeting via loud speakers outside the town hall. Those who did make it inside had to show proof of residency.

Local television was given a recording of the mayor denouncing Moore.

“I would much rather have someone who drank and drank too much taking care of my child than I had somebody whose lifestyle is questionable around children, because that ain’t the damn way that they’re supposed to be,” Bullard says on the call. “I don’t agree with some of the lifestyles that I see portrayed and I don’t say anything because that’s the way they want to live. But I’m not going to let my child be around. I’m not going to let two women stand up there and hold hands and let my child be aware of it, and I’m not going to see them do it with two men neither. I’m not going to do it, because that ain’t the way the world works.”

Moore says that she is overwhelmed at the support.

INDIANA: Third Marriage Suit Filed

Via press release from Indiana Equality:

This morning, four lawfully married same-sex couples filed a challenge to Indiana’s marriage law on the basis that the state’s unwillingness to recognize legal same-sex marriages performed elsewhere violates the U.S. Constitution. Of the eight women who joined the lawsuit, three are police officers and one is a retired firefighter. All four couples were lawfully married in states other than Indiana. The lawsuit focuses, among other denied protections, on the inability of first responders’ same-sex spouses to be named as beneficiaries for police and fire pension or death benefits. The lawsuit names Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and officials with the Indiana Public Retirement System, which oversees the Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension and Disability Fund.

Read the full filing. Here are the first and second suits.

MISSOURI: State Supreme Court Rules That Partner Of Killed Cop Gets Nothing

In 2009 a Missouri State Highway Patrolman was killed in the line of duty when he was struck by a car on an icy road as he assisted stranded motorists. On Tuesday the state Supreme Court ruled that his partner is not entitled to any survivor benefits.

His partner of 15 years, Kelly Glossip, filed suit after he was denied survivor benefits. By law, those benefits are limited to a surviving spouse. Glossip argued that the law was discriminatory because Missouri state law also forbids same-sex marriage. He also claims it is an unconstitutional special law. The court rejected these claims. In a 5-2 opinion, the court ruled that the law Glossip was challenging discriminated on the basis of marriage, not sexual orientation. "Glossip was denied survivor benefits because he and the patrolman were not married, not because of his sexual orientation," the ruling document stated. "If Glossip and the patrolman had been of different sexes, Glossip would have still been denied benefits no matter how long or close their relationship had been. The result cannot be any different here simply because Glossip and the patrolman were of the same sex. The statute discriminates solely on the basis of marital status, not sexual orientation.

TENNESSEE: Church Boots Out Lesbian Cop's Relatives After City Backs Benefits

Two weeks ago I reported that the small Tennessee town of Collegedale had become the first in the state to offer benefits to the partners of LGBT employees. Among the people that supported the measure was openly gay Collegedale police officer Kat Cooper and her wife. In retaliation, a local church has booted Cooper's relatives out of the congregation.

Leaders at Ridgedale Church of Christ met in private with Kat Cooper's mother, aunt and uncle on Sunday after the regular worship service. They were given an ultimatum: They could repent for their sins and ask forgiveness in front of the congregation. Or leave the church. Their sins? "My mother was up here and she sat beside me. That's it," said Kat Cooper. "Literally, they're exiling members for unconditionally loving their children -- and even extended family members."  But the family's support of Kat Cooper was as good as an endorsement of homosexuality, said Ken Willis, minister at Ridgedale Church of Christ. "The sin would be endorsing that lifestyle," Willis said. "The Bible speaks very plainly about that." Willis, a father himself, said the church didn't expect the Cooper family to disown their daughter. "But you certainly can't condone that lifestyle, whether it's any kind of sin -- whether they're shacked up with someone or living in a state of fornication or they're guilty of crimes," he said. "You don't condone it. You still love them as a parent."

Cooper's father says they have "no sin to repent for" and that it was an easy decision to leave their church. His wife, he said, has not been able to stop crying. (Tipped by JMG reader Carver)

MINNEAPOLIS: Chief Of Police Marries

Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau has gotten married in a ceremony officiated by the mayor. Her wife, Holly Keegel, is also a city cop.

They waited a few days to take advantage of the Aug 1 law that gave same-sex couples the right to marry in Minnesota. Chief called me first Saturday because when I interviewed her in June, I asked if they might marry. She told me they would, opening with a joke: “We’ve been together for 25 years but we’re still not sure. I couldn’t be any more married. Now we’ll just make it legal. Of course, we will.” Keegel, who signed off on Harteau calling to giving me the scoop, had told the media-friendly chief this marriage news better not leak out ahead of time. Harteau was actually fine with that. “This is the one thing we wanted to keep private since we are very much in the public eye,” she said.

COLORADO: Judge Orders State To Pay $768K To Gay Former Trooper

The Colorado State Patrol has been ordered to pay $768,268 to a former trooper who was refused reinstatement after they learned he is gay.

State Senior Administrative Law Judge Mary McClatchey said in a 25-page opinion that former State Patrol Capt. Brett Williams — who she said was highly dedicated to the patrol, where he enjoyed a "stellar career" — suffered and will continue to suffer from the patrol's discriminatory actions against him. Williams, now 45, left the agency in early 2010 to pursue a career as a helicopter pilot, but a few months later he asked to return to the patrol. At the time he left the patrol, he was earning $96,000 annually plus benefits. During the polygraph test required as part of the reinstatement, a State Patrol sergeant asked Williams a question that forced Williams to reveal he is gay. This violated patrol rules prohibiting polygraph questions about sexual orientation. The question concerned a massage Williams confessed to receiving in Thailand that involved sexual contact. Such a massage is not illegal in Thailand.

The judge had previously ruled that the State Patrol did not have to give Williams his job back as he would likely find a "hostile work environment."

Boston Pride ID's Gay Cop At Scene

One of the Boston cops shown in one of yesterday's most-widely publicized photos is openly gay police officer Javier Pagan, says Boston Pride on their Facebook page:

The Police Officer to the far right is a good friend of Boston Pride! He is the Boston Police Gay Liaison to the community Javier Pagan.  One of the First Responders who was miraculously standing right behind the flags where the first bomb went off---- Boston Pride would like to thank Javier for all you do!

The Dallas Voice has more: 

Officer Pagan’s husband, Pedro, is a retired sergeant from the New York Police Department who rescued many people when the Twin Towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2011, according to a recent profile of Pagan by a Boston CrossFit site. Pagan also escorted LGBT civil rights attorney Mary Bonauto to City Hall Plaza on May 17, 2004, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. Pagan, a native of Puerto Rico who came out at 26 a year after joining the force, was profiled by the Bay Windows LGBT newspaper when he was named to the position in 2002.

(Tipped by JMG reader John)

UPDATE: Sports Illustrated cover via Towleroad.

Toronto Cops: Stop Bullying Now

(Via Towleroad)

LOS ANGELES: Lesbian Officers Targeted By Fugitive Ex-Cop Suspected Of Murder

Multiple law enforcement agencies across southern California are conducting a joint manhunt for a former Los Angeles cop suspected of murdering three people, including a member of the LAPD. Local news outlets have published a lengthy manifesto from Christopher Dorner, 33, in which he vows revenge on lesbian, Latino, and Asian members of the police. An excerpt:

Those Hispanic officers who victimize their own ethnicity because they are new immigrants to this country and are unaware of their civil rights. You call them wetbacks to their face and demean them in front of fellow officers of different ethnicities so that you will receive some sort of acceptance from your colleagues. I’m not impressed. Most likely, your parents or grandparents were immigrants at one time, but you have forgotten that. You are a high value target.  Those lesbian officers in supervising positions who go to work, day in day out, with the sole intent of attempting to prove your misandrist authority (not feminism) to degrade male officers. You are a high value target. Those Asian officers who stand by and observe everything I previously mentioned other officers participate in on a daily basis but you say nothing, stand for nothing and protect nothing. Why? Because of your usual saying, ” I……don’t like conflict”. You are a high value target as well.

Dorner claims to have been fired in 2011 after he filed an excessive force complaint against a fellow police officer.

Wanna Date A Gay Cop?

Gothamist tips us to Meet Single Police Officers, a new hook-up/dating site for cops and their admirers. I just checked and yes, the site includes gay profiles.  Whether a member is an actual cop is apparently not vetted, but some profiles include in-uniform images.

Minneapolis Swears In Lesbian Top Cop

Yesterday Minneapolis swore in its first openly lesbian chief of police.

Janeé Harteau was sworn in as the city's 52nd police chief on Thursday before a crowd of 300 people in the rotunda of Minneapolis City Hall, as Sgt. Holly Keegel, whom she introduced as her "life partner," and their 13-year-old daughter, Lauren, stood by her side. "I will always stand up and do what is right, even if I stand alone," she said in a speech, following the swearing-in ceremony. "There are incredibly high expections for me and there should be." Seated and standing, the crowd included City Council members, police chiefs from a number of Minnesota cities, Minneapolis police officers and other city employees.

JMG reader Robert captions the above photo: "The man on the far right in the photo is openly gay Minneapolis City Clerk, Casey Carl. Also in attendance were two out gay City Council Members; Council Vice President Robert Lilligren (me) and Gary Schiff, as well as the nations first out U.S. Marshall Sharon Lubinski who is a former Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief."

NYPD: It Gets Better

(Via Advocate)

TEXAS: Dallas Cops In Chikin Flap

A Dallas police sergeant has been reassigned to the city jail after two lesbian police officers complained that he'd made homophobic comments on last week's Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day.

All sides agree that [Sgt. Mark] Johnson brought a Chick-fil-A bag to work, and that there was some discussion about the restaurant chain. The content of that discussion is disputed. The two female officers told supervisors that Johnson set a Chick-fil-A bag in front of them and said something about having eaten at the restaurant that day. The officers told supervisors that they felt Johnson was trying to send them a message. [Police spokesman Ron] Pinkston said Johnson told him the women approached him and he denies putting the bag in front of them.

On that particular day, [Assistant Chief Michael] Genovesi had sent out an announcement that was to be read at all of the detail meetings regarding the “Kiss Mor Chiks,” protest that was to occur two days later. That protest involved people showing up to Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country and kissing each other. The announcement, which Johnson read, reminded officers to stay out of the fray and only act if there was a need to protect public safety or to enforce criminal trespass laws. The two female officers, already offended by the conversation prior to the detail, left the the detail meeting early. They told supervisors that he was looking at them as he read the announcement.

An internal affairs investigation is underway.

Seattle Cops - It Gets Better

ARIZONA: Scandal-Plagued Gay Cop Drops Congress Bid, Runs For Sheriff Again

Arizona's Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, who was outed this February in a scandal regarding his Mexico-born boyfriend, claims that he can no longer run for Congress because the guy who was going to replace him as sheriff can no longer campaign.

When I announced my candidacy for Congress, I promised the citizens of Pinal County that I would ensure continuity of leadership in the Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Steve Henry’s candidacy not only ensured continuity of leadership, it also safeguarded the improved service we’ve delivered to Pinal families with the same passion and commitment since taking office. The federal Office of Special Counsel has advised Chief Henry that because our office receives federal funds and Steve supervises those who are in control of federal funds, he is not able to run for Sheriff while serving as our Chief Deputy. Chief Henry was left three choices, resign his position as Chief Deputy and run for Sheriff, withdraw his candidacy for Sheriff or transfer to a non-leadership position within our office where he would not supervise anybody who handles any federal funding. Forget the politics, none of these options are good to maintain continued success of our Sheriff’s Office. I have decided to end our congressional campaign and seek re-election as Pinal County Sheriff. Yesterday, I informed my campaign staff and our finance team of my decision to run for re-election.

Yeeeah. THAT'S why he's dropping out. Okay, sure.

SFPD - It Gets Better