Police Dept. Sought in West Hollywood

I submit that it is time for the city of West Hollywood to have its own police department--one that is sensitive and responsive to the needs of all its citizens. Of 22 recent complaints of harassment and abusive treatment by sheriff’s deputies, 21 were determined by the Sheriff’s Department to be unsubstantiated. No action taken.

What else could we expect from a department run by avowed homophobe Sherman Block, who adamantly refuses to recruit lesbians and gay men as deputies, and who recently said that gay and lesbian deputies should not come out of the closet because departmental “harassment probably would be open and overt”?

It is absolutely inconceivable that in a city where 35% to 40% of the population is gay, there is not one openly gay or lesbian law enforcement officer.

The sheriff’s contract with the city of West Hollywood expires in June, 1990. The sheriff says the terms of the contract are not negotiable. “Take it or leave it,” he says.

If the sheriff can’t meet our needs, then let’s get someone who can. Someone with sensitivity to the needs of the lesbian and gay community. How about a gay chief of police?

West Hollywood’s contract with the sheriff costs $8.5 million a year, or about 30% of the city’s $28-million annual budget. According to City Manager Paul Brotzman, a West Hollywood police department would cost the city approximately $11 million a year. The difference is due to so-called “concessions” the Sheriff’s Department makes to keep West Hollywood’s business, which accounts for some 10% of the department’s entire annual budget.

In a city where the first official act was to outlaw discrimination based upon sexual orientation, our chief law enforcement officer refuses to adopt an anti-discrimination policy! In a city that is 35% to 40% gay, our law enforcement officers receive no AIDS education other than for their own protection, nor do they receive any form of gay sensitivity training. Incredible, isn’t it?

Lastly, most cities have a formal citizens review commission to guard against police abuses. But in West Hollywood, where abusive police treatment is rampant, there is no such protection whatsoever. Nor, Sheriff Block vows, will there ever be.

Surely the “creative city” can find a way to finance its own police department. Another $2 million per year is a small price indeed for even-handed justice. If Sheriff Block cannot or will not meet the gay community’s demands for fair and impartial treatment, then he should get the pink slip come June, 1990.

CHRISTOPHER FAIRCHILD

West Hollywood