Comments | mizzoumark: Stonewall--Texas Style

mizzoumark

Stonewall--Texas Style

Jun 30, 2009 08:06

By now, most of you have heard about the raid on a gay club here in Fort Worth over the weekend. No, I wasn't there, nor do I know anyone who was, but I've been following this story very closely since I first heard about it Sunday night ( Read more... )

Comments 10

brokn2pieces June 30 2009, 14:11:43 UTC

i've been reading bullet points about this. thanks for the specifics

mizzoumark July 1 2009, 13:51:17 UTC

You're welcome. The local media has actually been doing a pretty good job of covering this, much to my surprise. It took them a while to get on the ball (the Fort Worth Star-Telegram waited until Sunday night, after the protest downtown, to put up their first story), but they haven't dropped it since.

bdouville June 30 2009, 16:21:52 UTC

I know a bit about the behaviour of drunks in gay bars (at least from what I remember, since it's been a few years). And frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the patrons actually did grope the officer. (If somebody is drunk enough and/or stupid enough, that sort of thing is possible.) But I would hardly classify that as "sexual assault." And it's certainly not of a magnitude that would justify randomly slapping handcuffs on patrons.

This sort of thuggish behaviour on the part of law enforcement agents is inexcusable, but sadly, it's quite widespread. It makes one ask, "has anything changed since the 1950s or 1960s?"

-- Bruce

mizzoumark July 1 2009, 13:56:00 UTC

Yeah, ever since I posted that, I felt like I misspoke. A groping, while very inapporpirate, doesn't rise to the level of sexual assult. And while I can understand a cop being extremely uncomfortable with something like that, if you're going into a bar to arrest drunk people, you should know how to react when drunk people do drunk things. Arresting the guy that did that is approiate. Sending him to the hospital (if it is indeed the same guy--they seem to have finally agreed that it was) is not.

I'm hoping the harsh glare of media attention will lead to true reforms with both the TABC and FWPD. I'm not all that optimistic that it will, but we can always hope.

iconoclast June 30 2009, 16:36:22 UTC

I've been following this pretty closely and I'm glad it's getting national attention. There needs to be a lot of outrage so they can't sweep this under the rug. Heads should roll.

mizzoumark July 1 2009, 14:00:34 UTC

Yes they should. Whether they will or not is a different story. Though right now, the FWPD is putting all the blame on the TABC, which remains strangely silent.

(The comment has been removed)

mizzoumark July 1 2009, 14:02:59 UTC

While there is no agency named "Texas State Police", there are a number of state agencies whose officers have full police powers within their jurisdiction. The TABC is among them. Since it's not widely known that TABC officers are police, I suspect that they decided that having "State Police" on their clothes would be a more effective way of letting people know that yes, they are cops, and yes, they can arrest you.

tko_ak July 1 2009, 04:24:59 UTC

Even if some of the patrons did act inappropriately, they're sloshed and their judgment isn't up to par. But it certainly seems like they went on a fishing expedition. And since it's Texas - whose history is pretty checkered on gay issues - I'm not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Besides, sending police into bars is pretty stupid, anyway. If they're really concerned about drunk driving, hang out in their parking lot or just outside and nail those who are actually driving under the influence.

mizzoumark July 1 2009, 14:08:59 UTC

I think most people are on the side of the bar patrons and not the cops, since the police have yet to conclusively explain how the guy got injured or why they needed so many officers to do what should be a simple alcohol check.

It's an incredibly stupid program, but I suspect it generates revenue for the state. Since the people arrested only get tickets that don't go on their record, very few people are inclined to fight it. The justification for the program is that you don't have to be driving to get hurt from being drunk, but still--as long as the guy remains in the bar, or hops into a cab or a car being driven by someone sober, and as long as he's not bothering anyone else, then let them be. They're drunk in a bar. They're not drunk at a Little League game. Hopefully, the next administration (assuming there will be a next administration and Perry doesn't declare himself Governor-For-Life) will force the TABC to ease back.