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A UC-Berkeley lecturer is suing the school over getting wrapped up in a gay sex sting in a library bathroom. Police evidently stake out certain campus bathrooms known for sexual activity. The lecturer, who admittedly was there to “meet someone,” was subsequently arrested for “loitering around a toilet.” Bruce Nickerson, the attorney representing the lecturer in a class action, says UCPD’s practice of running bathroom stings is an assault on gay rights:
What happened at U.C. Berkley was as follows. The restroom in one of the major libraries gained a reputation, probably deserved, for being a place where gay persons met. The overwhelming majority of them, I believe, meet and then go elsewhere – some small, insignificant minority possibly engaging in conduct in closed bathroom stalls, which, while odious, is not illegal according to the California Supreme Court, several cases of which I argued.
And if not illegal, Nickerson says, what is UCPD doing devoting officers to library bathrooms, where they pose as men seeking sexual partners?
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On yesterday’s Your Call, KALW’s news call-in show, Station Manager Matt Martin led a roundtable discussion about the escalating use of military weapons and tactics by police departments. According to guest and reporter Radley Balko, “Police militarization is now an ingrained part of American culture.” We’re seeing local police dressed in riot gear use stun grenades and rubber coated bullets on demonstrators. How did we get here? And how is this affecting the relationship between police departments and local communities? Ali Winston and Norm Stamper also joined.
By Hans Bennett, Prison Radio
