After the announcement today about the Fort Worth Bar Raid, I think it’s about time we had a frank discussion about police officers. Throughout LGBT history in the United States, the gay/trans community has been pitted against police. It’s police, in fact, who inspire our holiest of high holidays: Pride.  The clashes are universal, span from coast to coast and need to stop.

But it’s not suspensions and internal reports that are going to end this problem.

To be a police officer in Fort Worth, TX one must have completed high school or achieved a G.E.D. And that’s it. No diploma from a community college. No college degree. No Masters program in criminology or forensics or law. Then officers are trained, by the police force rather than an independent body.

A Lieutenant in the Fort Worth police department gets paid $36,000 a year.

But police officers are outfitted with guns, given immense amounts of power and asked to make sophisticated legal decisions in an instant. Are we surprised that they screw up a lot? Are we surprised that the people they recruit are not the most open-minded, educated members of a community?

The Fort Worth police department wants to solve this problem by doling out a few suspensions or by instituting training that considers the rights and experiences of LGBT community members.

I think there’s no chance the Fort Worth Texas police force, or pretty much any police force, is going to improve their relationship with the LGBT community until we start insisting the officers get more life experience and academic training, the salaries increase to be competitive with degree requirements and the force itself start to take its job seriously enough that bare minimum standards just aren’t good enough anymore.

This past Friday night, WPLJ DJ Blake Hayes, cabaret and Broadway performer Danny Calvert and another friend were walking down 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen when a cigarette butt was thrown at them by a man outside of McCoy’s bar, followed by the words, “Keep moving, faggot.”

Hayes reports back on his website that they “exchanged words, more and more heated, until he started to approach us, threatening violence. Before we knew it, he had thrown one friend against a car, denting it. The other took two punches to the face, cutting his lip before the bouncer at McCoy’s came out and stopped him.”

From a statement by New York City Council Speaker (and open lesbian) Christine C. Quinn:

Early Saturday morning there was a report of an anti-LGBT attack in Hell’s Kitchen in which two individuals were the victims of a physical assault.  I am obviously outraged by news that another bias attack has occurred in our city.

But I am also deeply concerned by reports from the victims that NYPD officers responding to the scene did not appropriately recognize the seriousness of the incident.

In fact, it has been reported that they failed to attempt to apprehend or even to collect contact information from the alleged assailant.  If these reports are true, the behavior of the police officers involved was also outrageous and merits swift action by the police department.

In response I have spoken to Police Commissioner Kelly’s office.  They have agreed to conduct an investigation of these reports, and to have police officials meet personally with the victims this week.  I am very gratified that the police department has agreed to my requests, and urge them to complete a swift and thorough investigation.

One of the most significant tools that have helped us to combat hate crimes here in New York City is having a strong police response to incidents when they occur.  There was a time in our city when victims of hate crimes did not feel that the police were their allies.  Any time a crime of this nature occurs, victims need to know they will be taken seriously. To their credit, the NYPD have demonstrated that they normally respond aggressively and appropriately to such crimes.  But even one such failure can begin to undermine all of our collaborative and historic efforts.

In addition, every victim deserves to have their incident taken as seriously as any other.   I will continue to work with advocates and the NYPD to increase and expand training when needed, so police officers have the tools they need to respond appropriately to bias attacks.

1. Never thought I would see director Roman Polanski in handcuffs.

2. What does it mean that Bill Clinton now supports gay marriage?

3. If any old head goes on some “the young these days” rant, tell her to put a sock in it. The kids are going to be all right.

4. Any Detroit Lions fans out there?  How ya feeling this morning?

5. Looks like the police from  New York City are dropping the ball when it comes to protecting and serving the gay community.

6. RIP Bill Safire.

7. Can’t lie. Shocked that Michael Steele is still the head of the RNC. Was convinced he would be gone by now.

8. October 11 is barreling down on us. Any ideas on how many show up?

9. Bronx’s favorite daughter, Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, threw the ceremonial pitch at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. This year could only get better for the associate justice if the Yankees, she’s a fan, win the World Series.

10. You know New York governor David Paterson is in trouble when he can’t get love from a sports columnist.

An Associated Press review of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s internal affairs logs found that all but 39 of the 234 allegations of excessive force or unprofessional conduct lodged against agents since 2004 have been closed without disciplinary action. Moreover, in nearly every excessive force case reviewed by the AP, the accused agents’ bosses were the ones who conducted the investigations.

The allegations ranged from officers improperly tackling, punching and using pepper spray on people. The agency has long had a reputation for heavy-handedness and garnered national attention in 2006 when state legislators forced it to cancel a program that aggressively sought to curb public drunkenness through stings that arrested people – even some bartenders- in bars.

The commission has recently drawn scrutiny because of a June raid at a Fort Worth gay bar, the Rainbow Lounge, that put a patron in the hospital for a week. Two agents and their supervisor were fired for violating agency policy, and an investigation is ongoing.

Several experts in police practices said it isn’t unusual for internal affairs cases to be closed without disciplinary action because they often involve one person’s word against another’s and can’t be proven.

But allowing officers’ supervisors to investigate allegations of excessive force isn’t typical for large or mid-size organizations, experts say. Conducting a probe like that “seriously calls into question the integrity of the investigation,” said Jon Shane, an assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

The TABC’s internal affairs policy is similar to those of other state agencies with law enforcement authority, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Alan Steen, who has served as the commission’s administrator since 2003.

Steen acknowledged that there were problems early in his tenure with the thoroughness of some investigations into misconduct allegations, but that the process has improved considerably since new officers were hired to run the internal affairs unit. He said he’s still comfortable with letting supervisors who oversee the accused agents investigate the claims as long as there’s adequate training and oversight.

The commission’s 275 agents enforce the laws regulating the sale, possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages. They also have the authority to make arrests for other offenses.

Thirty-four other states have liquor control boards with agents who are peace officers. How much authority each agency has varies, but Texas has been one of the most aggressive, said Ted Mahony, president of the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association and chief investigator for Massachusetts’ state commission.

The AP found that 46 allegations of excessive force were made against 36 TABC agents since 2004. Nearly half came in 2005, the height of the agency’s crackdown on public drunkenness. All but five of the 46 were dismissed without disciplinary action. In two instances, agents received counseling for lesser offenses. Three allegations are shown as pending.

In compiling its own data, the TABC tracks excessive force by the number of complaints received instead of the number of officers accused. Using that measure, the agency’s data shows 36 complaints since 2004. TABC spokeswoman Carolyn Beck said the number is minuscule compared to the more than 108,000 citations its officers issued during that period.

The AP tabulated its figures by counting each time an allegation was made against an officer.

The AP’s findings indicate that TABC agents have faced allegations of excessive force at about the same rate as the Austin Police Department.

Sam Walker, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska, said he would expect agents working for state liquor boards to be accused of excessive force at a far lower rate than city cops.

“It’s just common sense that there would be fewer (cases) in that kind of enforcement situation than on the street in high-crime neighborhoods,” he said.

However, Mahony said agents face situations in which force is required more often than some might think because officers have to handle people who are drunk and frequently don’t cooperate.

One recent incident examined by the AP underscores the questions surrounding the process within the TABC.

It involved a Victoria-based agent shown on a security video appearing to tackle a bar patron violently from behind as the patron walks to the door of the club. Based on the video, an assistant district attorney in Victoria County declined to prosecute the patron for resisting arrest, but the TABC has decided that the agent didn’t do anything wrong.

Andy Pena, the TABC officer in charge of internal affairs, said the agent, Jeff Rendon, appropriately subdued a man who earlier tried to avoid getting arrested in a part of the club that did not have security cameras.

The patron, Eric Arriaga, has filed a federal lawsuit against Rendon and another agent claiming that his civil rights were violated and that he received numerous injuries, including a broken ankle.

It’s the third excessive-force allegation against Rendon, 37, since he joined the agency in 2004, the most of any agent in that time period. One was ruled unfounded after Rendon’s supervisor investigated. The other was closed as justified even though TABC officials never contacted the person who allegedly was roughed up.

Beck said Rendon is on administrative leave for a matter unrelated to the use of force. He did not respond to phone messages from the AP.

The angry citizens stood on the steps to protest the Sept. 10 undercover police raid at the gay Atlanta Eagle Club. Eight people were arrested that night, including the owner, and charged with providing adult entertainment without a permit.

According to Towelroad, a total of 62 patrons were handcuffed, searched illegally, and forced onto the ground, where they stayed for close to two hours.

Towel Road also reported some of the complaints last week:

“One man said officers grabbed patrons who didn’t immediately lie down by the neck and forced them to the ground. The man said he was kicked in the ribs while lying down. ‘Then I heard laughing and giggling and saying this is more fun than raiding niggers with crack. They also told us to shut the fuck up unless we were spoken too [sic].’ The man said he heard one person told that if he spoke again he would be hit by a chair. He also reported that one officer ’said to everyone in general that all you all do is flash your asses and show your cocks.’”

Other witnesses reported that the police uttered anti-gay slurs to those they searched.

I’m coming late to this, but here is a question: when is the Atlanta Police Department going to start firing people? As most of you know on September 10 there was a police raid at the Atlanta Eagle. According to authorities they invaded the bar because there were complaints of sexual activity. The tips were sent to the mayor’s office and Crime Stoppers. Why anyone would leave a tip of a crime at the office of the mayor is a tad bit sketchy, and Georgia Equality wants some answers from Mayor Shirley Franklin.The police are going to have to come up with answers also because the complaints filed by bar patrons—no one was arrested—show police officers who have no idea how to deal with the public. In the grievances officers are high-fiving each other like a they just scored a touchdown, loudly proclaiming how they are not fans of gays or gay sexuality.

The most bizarre charge is the detention of an Atlanta Eagle employee. He lives above the bar, wasn’t working the night of the raid, but the police pounded on his door anyway.

“He opened the door to two cops who asked if anyone was having sex there. They asked why there was a bed and he said it was because he lives there. He was made to come downstairs and was arrested with the other employees. He recalled hearing comments like ‘You people are despicable.’”

So having a bed in an apartment is now despicable. Glad that was straightened out.

The owners of the Atlanta Eagle are not going into the good night quietly. Here is their Facebook page and there is a rally this week-end. If you are in Atlanta throw them your support.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it: police misconduct, no matter who it happens to, is of supreme importance to gays and lesbians.

Twenty-seven-year-old Keyontyli Goffney, of Arlington, N.J., pleaded guilty to burglary and criminal conspiracy Thursday. He was sentenced to time served.

Goffney’s twin brother, Taleon, pleaded guilty to the same crimes in July, but he was sentenced to at least three years in prison because of previous arrests. Police say he once swam across a lake while handcuffed to evade officers.

The twins were arrested in February 2008 after police said they saw them breaking into a beauty shop.

The brothers appeared in such gay porn flicks as “Marc and the Twins.” Keyontyli Goffney says he still works as a model.

“I told them they might not like us, but they can’t stop us from coming here,” said AIDS activist Xiao Mu, who was handing out condoms and pamphlets about safe sex when the police arrived on Aug. 25. “We have a right to be in the park.”

Though mostly ignored by state-run media, news of the incident in the southern city of Guangzhou – also known as Canton – spread quickly on the Internet and became a hot topic in gay chat forums nationwide. Some in China’s gay community see it as a sign of a new sense of empowerment and a burgeoning awareness of their rights.

Members of the community have had minor confrontations with the authorities before in other cities. But usually the disputes play out in a low-key way, without much resistance to sweeps, said Lu Jun, founder of a Beijing-based group that fights discrimination against people with hepatitis B.

“I’ve never heard of something like this happening anywhere else,” Lu said about the Guangzhou incident. “I think what happened marks great progress for homosexuals.”

Gay activist Dao Dao in Shanghai also applauded those in Guangzhou for standing up for their rights. But he said he doubted it was the right long-term strategy. He favors striving for wider acceptance by being model citizens, rather than being outspoken and confrontational.

“We don’t do any harm to the society. I think that’s the best way to show all the people that we are good people and nothing different,” said Dao Dao, who works in finance and also helps organize gay parties, sporting events and other activities.

Gay rights have come a long way since the years just after the 1949 communist revolution when homosexuality was considered a disease from the decadent West and feudal societies, and gay people were persecuted. China waited until 1997 to decriminalize sodomy. Homosexuality was finally removed from the official list of mental disorders in 2001. But still, there are no widely accepted estimates of the number of gay people in China.

This year has already been an eventful one for gay rights. In June, the first gay pride festival was held in Shanghai, the nation’s commercial capital. Later in the month, the five-day Beijing Queer Film Festival was held – an event that police blocked in 2001 and 2005.

But as those cities showed signs of being more tolerant, Guangzhou authorities were starting to crack down in People’s Park – a shady oasis of trees and gazebos in the middle of the muggy, traffic-congested city. The park is popular with youngsters who play badminton or retirees practicing their ballroom-dancing moves to stereos blasting out tunes like “Sukiyaki,” the Japanese ballad that became a hit in the U.S. in the 1960s.

For years, the park has also been a favorite hangout for gay men, especially among the young or working-class who can’t afford the bars and restaurants around town that cater to the community. The men – many dressed in tank tops and tight jeans – stroll around the park or sit together on a long line of stone benches. Nearby is a public restroom, where some men have sex – a source of much of the friction with the police.

On Aug, 25, the police moved in. “They told us, ‘You just leave and don’t come back. This is People’s Park, not Homosexual Park,’” said Xiao, the AIDS activist, who is a short and thin and wears large black-framed glasses. “That made me extremely mad. He was saying gays aren’t human.”

Xiao said several men quietly walked away, but he stood his ground and people gathered around as he argued with police. Some who left wandered back after a few minutes, and Xiao estimated the crowd swelled to about 100 people, including several heterosexual passers-by who supported him.

The police declined to be interviewed. An officer at the front desk of the neighborhood’s main police station grew agitated when asked about the incident, and with a loud voice he ordered an Associated Press reporter to leave the station.

A park policeman, who declined to give his name because he’s not authorized to speak to the media, denied the police were unfair or discriminating against gays.

“The problem is that they do things in the public bathroom. Some of them will grope each other on the park benches,” the policeman said. “People see them doing these things and it makes them feel uncomfortable. Then they call the police.”

The officer added that those who have been asked to leave the park or have been taken to the station for questioning are repeat offenders who constantly cause trouble.

But gay activist Ah Qiang disagrees with the police. He said in March police started rounding up random groups of men in the park. They were marched to the police station where they would be forced to write a statement about their activities before being released without being charged, he said.

Police often called the men “gay lao” or “ji lao” – a pejorative term in the local Cantonese dialect, he said.

However, the activist acknowledged that some people do misbehave in public. But he added, “The police should deal with individual cases. They shouldn’t punish a whole group of people.”

There’s a deep division within the gay community about who is to blame.

Shi Heng, a gay hotel worker who hangs out at the park, found himself in the middle of a fierce debate with younger men during a recent afternoon when he insisted that the cause of the trouble is the men who have sex in the restrooms.

“People are being too crude. We simply can’t behave like this in a public place,” said the 47-year-old man.

But another man in his 20s disagreed with Shi and said young men like him had few options.

“We can’t afford to rent a room, and many of us live with our parents,” said the man, who declined to be named because he feared it would cause trouble at home and work. “Where are we supposed to have sex?”

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said agent Christopher Aller and agent trainee Jason Chapman, who participated in the June 28 raid at the Rainbow Lounge, were fired Friday. Their supervisor, Sgt. Terry Parsons, was not at the Fort Worth bar that night but also was fired, effective Sept. 2.

Aller and Chapman failed to report that they used force when arresting the customer or that he was seriously injured, according to a report on the agency’s investigation released earlier this month. They also were accused of participating in the raid without their supervisor’s approval, disrupting the business during the raid and wearing improper attire, the report states.

Parsons failed to ensure that the agents submitted a report on using force during the arrest, did not take appropriate action after learning they didn’t wear proper attire and did not notify supervisors that multiple arrests had been made that night, the report states.

The commission said Parsons’ direct supervisor, Lt. Gene Anderson, would be suspended without pay for three days and be on probation for six months, and Capt. Robert “Charlie” Cloud, who oversees the Dallas and Fort Worth TABC offices, has received a written reprimand. Both inadequately monitored new agents’ training and inadequately supervised Fort Worth employees and their activities, the agency said.

In announcing the disciplinary actions, the agency’s chief of field operations, Joel Moreno, said he was confident that Anderson and Cloud could make the necessary improvements.

“The first step is by working more closely with their employees, mentoring them and serving as positive role models by exemplifying the agency’s four cornerstones: service, courtesy, integrity, and accountability,” Moreno said in a statement. “It is essential that every employee understands our core value: We do the right thing, not what we have the right to do.”

TABC Administrator Alan Steen, who will make the final decision on any appeals, was not available to comment Friday, agency spokeswoman Carolyn Beck said.

The five may protest their disciplinary actions by submitting a written grievance in the next 10 working days.

Aller, who had worked for the agency for five years, and Chapman, who was hired in April, had been on desk duty during the investigation. Parsons had planned to retire Sept. 2 after completing 20 years with the agency but had been using vacation time.

Phone numbers for the fired employees could not be found Friday. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Officers Association has not been asked to provide representation for the three, president Darryl Darnell said Friday.

Another sergeant will be transferred from Fort Worth to the Dallas office next week “for the betterment of the agency and to create change in the office,” but that is not considered disciplinary action, Beck said.

Aller and Chapman accompanied six Fort Worth police officers to the Rainbow Lounge in what police billed as a routine liquor license inspection for a new business. Six people were arrested for public intoxication, and one patron, Chad Gibson, suffered a severe head injury while in the agents’ custody, the agency and police have said.

Gibson, who was hospitalized for a week, has said he has a blood clot behind his right eye.

Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead has said authorities set out to inspect the bar that night. But he acknowledged the visit somewhat resembled a raid because some police officers ran inside, responding to an officer’s two distress calls seeking help with a customer resisting arrest. The two TABC agents were wearing improper attire – shirts that said “state police” instead of coats and ties – and they didn’t tell the owner they were conduction an inspection, the agency said.

Since the raid, the agency has changed several policies – including how it uses force in certain situations – and is shortening agents’ shifts, increasing cultural diversity training and reviewing the agent trainee field training program, Moreno said.

“Most of these were not as a direct result of this incident, but we hope they will prevent a similar incident from happening,” Beck said Friday.

The raid led to numerous protest marches and rallies by gay rights groups, which demanded independent investigations. Some said the bar was targeted because it catered to a gay clientele, and some patrons said they were scared during the raid because agents used excessive force.

A group formed after the raid, Fairness Fort Worth, said Friday that the disciplinary actions and policy changes were appropriate.

“Fairness Fort Worth appreciates TABC’s strong commitment to instituting changes that result in better trained agents and improvements to services for all Texas communities,” spokesman Jon Nelson said in a statement.

A report addressing whether the agents’ use of force was appropriate during the raid is expected to be released in September.

1. I’m behind the curve on this one, but I’m not getting the whole Twilight thing. But that’s good, no?

2. Any opinions on the couple, Aiyi-nah Ford and Torian Brown, that were kicked out of a diner for too much PDA? No fan of PDA but have you ever heard of a straight couple being asked to leave for holding each other?

3. For those convinced Henry Gates was arrogant and  got what he deserved, what do you say about this video? Did the woman get her comeuppance? Will you defend the police? Or wonder what this story has to do with a gay news site? Nothing at all. Nothing at all.

4. I have a new boyfriend. He just doesn’t know it  yet. That’s something I need to work on. None of my former boyfriends knew we were going out.

5. Anyone who throws a sex toy at an Adam Lambert concert is an idiot.

6. If you are going to go on a show and spread disinformation about death panels, at least have the decency to have the page marked.

7. I want to visit Buenos Aires, the city of Jorge Luis Borges.

8. Happy 100th birthday Lester Young.

9. Guess who is blogging now? Beau, baby? Why do you never call?

10. An unassisted triple play!? The Mets season is now officially  over. 2010 baby!