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By Michael Lucas
Friday, September 21, 2007
We gay people have a duty to ourselves to demand that our rights be respected. The sickening truth is that despite supposed sensitivity training, there is still a lot of anti-gay bigotry in the New York Police Department.
I have heard of many gay-bashing crimes committed in Chelsea and throughout the city, to which the police have had responses that amount to additional victimizations of the gay people attacked.
I’ve had my own recent, negative experience with the NYPD. On July 27 in the evening I was heading home in a cab. The driver was singing at the top of his lungs. My cell rang. Wanting to take the call, I asked the driver to stop singing. He told me it was his cab, he could do as he pleased, and that I had to get out right there. I said he had to take me all the way home.
Upon arrival, I requested a receipt. The driver didn’t want to provide one. I put his identifying information in my cell, and then told him I would be filing a complaint with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. He locked the back doors from the front, rushed out, opened the door on my side, thrust himself next to me, and said that if I reported him, he’d kill me. I let him know that in addition to reporting him, I’d insist his license be revoked. He viciously assaulted me, clenching his fingers at my neck, punching at my head, causing a trauma to the flesh of my ear.
Freeing myself from the assault, I got out of the cab and dialed 911, running around the cab and opening its doors so the driver couldn’t leave. A police cruiser arrived immediately, with Officer Miller of the 10th Precinct. The police talked with me and the driver separately.
I might speak with an accent, but I’m an American citizen. The police, however, seemed more interested in needling me about where I was born and how long I have been here than in listening to details of my complaint against the driver.
Once they did listen, they said all I could do, since there were no witnesses, was file a harassment claim. They advised me not to, because it would be “a waste” of their and my time. They said if I was not bleeding, there was nothing to talk about. I told them to look at my traumatized ear, burning red. They took my claim, on file at Command 010, the precinct house at 230 W. 20th St. Then Officer Miller said, “You are fucking annoying me; now get the fuck out of here.”
There weren’t witnesses to this, so it’s my word against the police officer’s word. Yet I am working with the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (avp.org), a most admirable organization, and they are taking this seriously. The case will be investigated. If Officer Miller and the NYPD think I’m going to let this go, they have another thing coming. Even if the ultimate result is not satisfactory to me, this will be on the officer’s record.
NOW I’M GOING TO repeat my opening sentence. We gay people have a duty to ourselves to demand that our rights be respected. If a police officer mistreats you in any way, report that officer. Get the event known outside of the police department. The goal is to create an environment where the police know there are consequences for abusing a civilian.
I did pursue the case against the violent taxi driver. His license will be revoked; he will pay a substantial fine. The Taxi Commission did an investigation.
Turns out he had told the police that when he drove met to my front door, I said I had no money, offered sex to pay for the ride, reached my arm around through the window partition separating the front and back seats and touched his genitals. That line is so blatantly ridiculous that a police officer would only consider it true and hold it against the falsely accused if he were harboring anti-gay sentiments. Even if a person had done such a thing, it would not be appropriate for a police officer to curse them.
MANY FINE PEOPLE WORK in the NYPD. Yet homophobia remains so pervasive in society that even here in New York City, where LGBT people generally feel free to be themselves, there are officers who act with prejudice against sexual and other minorities.
It isn’t hard to find institutionalized bigotry nationally, either. The officer who snagged Sen. Larry Craig in the bathroom sex bust said to him, “I’m disappointed in you, sir. I expect this from the guy we get out of the hood. I mean, people vote for you.” I condemn that statement because it is racist. We should all realize that there are police using the same type of thinking against gay people. I do whatever is in my power to force change; so should you.
Michael Lucas is the president and CEO of LucasEntertainment.com. You can read more about his thoughts and his XXX movies at LucasBlog.com.
Editor’s note: The Blade is checking with the Civilian Complaint Review Board for news on Lucas’ case with the police; check the online version of this piece at nyblade.com for updates. We would like to point out that op-eds are not necessarily the viewpoint of The New York Blade, but rather are viewpoints of individuals in the community we think will spur discussion among our readers. We invite all readers to respond via a Letter to the Editor or an opinion piece for us to consider publishing. We can be reached at nybl@hx.com.
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