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Del. cop under investigation for anti-LGBT post

Activists demand termination of officer

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anti-LGBT post, gay news, Washington Blade

(Images courtesy of Equality Delaware)

The chief of police in a small town in Delaware near the state capital of Dover is investigating allegations that one of his patrol officers posted an anti-gay message on Facebook, according to a town official.

Theon Callender, the town administrator of Cheswold, Del., confirmed the investigation was under way in an Aug. 14 letter to the statewide LGBT advocacy group Equality Delaware.

Callenderā€™s letter came three days after Equality Delaware sent its own letter to the townā€™s police chief, Christopher Workman; the town mayor, Robert Sine; and other town officials disclosing that it learned that Patrol Officer First Class Louis Simms had allegedly made the anti-LGBT post on Facebook under an account with his profile picture.

Although the post was made under the name Louis Judge, Equality Delaware officials have said they learned the post was made by Officer Simms through sources who know the officer.

The post in question states, ā€œI stand with Trump!!! The flag on the right shoulder is [an American flag is shown], not [a rainbow flag is shown].ā€

A separate Facebook post obtained by Equality Delaware under the name Louis Judge shows a large photo of a police officer with an American flag patch on the right shoulder of the officerā€™s police uniform. Ā Although the photo shows only half of the officerā€™s face, Equality Delaware says it learned through sources that the photo is of Officer Simms.

ā€œWe have seen the post, and we ask you to conduct an investigation, if one is necessary, to determine whether the post came from Officer Simms,ā€ the Equality Delaware letter to the Cheswold town officials says.

ā€œIf it did, we ask that you permanently remove Officer Simms from the police force of the Town of Cheswold,ā€ the letter says. ā€œThe Facebook post characterizes the LGBTQ community, through our trademark rainbow flag, as somehow incompatible with America, as though LGBTQ Americans arenā€™t Americans at all.ā€

The letter adds, ā€œSimply stated, if the post is from Officer Simms, then his behavior shows not only poor judgment, but a disposition for discrimination against an entire community of people based solely on their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. That is not a trait that can be tolerated in a position of public law enforcement, which demands the protection of all communities and equal and fair administration of justice.ā€

Mark Purpura, president of Equality Delaware Foundation, who co-signed the letter to the Cheswold officials, said the group has no objections to the Facebook postings expression of support for President Trump. He said the groupā€™s objection is over the postingā€™s disparagement of LGBT people through the reference to the rainbow flag.

In his letter of response, town administrator Callender said the mayor, Town Council, and police chief of Cheswold ā€œare aware of the recent controversial postings on social media allegedly attributed to Officer Simms.ā€

ā€œChief Workman is and has taken immediate steps to investigate the matter with great sensitivity toward those raising objections; toward the community at large, while also being sensitive to and maintaining the rights of the officer,ā€ Callender said. ā€œWe expect to bring the investigation to a prompt conclusion and at that time we will announce our findings and course of action, as stipulated by the laws of Delaware,ā€ he said.

ā€œWhile this fair and orderly process occurs, please be assured that the Mayor, Town Council and Chief Workman share an attitude of inclusiveness, respect and compassion that reflects the prevailing view of our community,ā€ he stated in the letter.

The initial Equality Delaware letter to the Cheswold officials raising the allegations against Officer Simms was jointly signed by Purpura and Equality Delaware President Lisa Goodman.

Purpura told the Blade that as of late Tuesday Cheswold officials had not informed the group that the pending investigation had been completed.

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District of Columbia

Gay man found unconscious near D.C. gay bar dies

Police release video of suspects in incident listed as robbery

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D.C. police released a video showing two suspects and a vehicle they believe the suspects used in committing the robbery of Bryan Smith that led to his death. (Screen capture via MPD YouTube)

D.C. police have confirmed that a gay man who worked as a hairstylist and a DJ and who was found unconscious about 5 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at the intersection of 5th and T Streets, N.W. near the gay bar Uproar has died.

Friends who knew the victim, Bryan Smith, stated in a GoFundMe message seeking support for his medical expenses that he was hospitalized for a severe head injury. His family members told Fox 5 News that he was in a coma.

A D.C. police spokesperson confirmed that Smith died on Nov. 7 and the cause and circumstances surrounding his death were pending with the Northern Virginia Medical Examinerā€™s Office. ā€œOnce we have more information, weā€™ll be putting that out,ā€ D.C. police spokesperson Thomas Lynch told the Washington Blade.

The information released by D.C police indicates Smith at some point was transferred from a D.C. hospital where he was taken by ambulance at the time he was found unconscious to a Virginia hospital, most likely at the request of family members.

Police also released a video showing two suspects and a vehicle they believe the suspects used in committing the robbery of Smith.

ā€œThe ongoing investigation has determined that the man was robbed by two suspects while walking on the block,ā€ according to an Oct. 30 police statement released before Smith died. ā€œDetectives are still working to determine how the victim sustained his injuries,ā€ the statement says.

The statement adds that the suspects have been linked to three other offenses that took place that same morning, two of which were attempted robberies and one of which was a robbery of victims on nearby streets.

Smith was found unconscious on Oct. 27 about five hours after another gay man, Sebastian Thomas Robles Lascarra, 22, was reportedly attacked and beaten by as many as 15 men and women at the McDonaldā€™s restaurant at 14th and U Street, N.W., according to a D.C. police report and information provided by Lascarraā€™s husband.

D.C. police announced they made an arrest Nov. 5 of a 16-year-old juvenile male in connection with the McDonaldā€™s case. The arrest came on the same day police released photos of seven suspects in the McDonaldā€™s assault case taken from video cameras at or near the McDonaldā€™s.

In their release of the video showing the two suspects in the Smith case, police are asking that anyone who may recognize the two individuals should contact police at 202-727-9099 or text their tip to the departmentā€™s TEXT TIP Line at 50411.

ā€œAnyone who may have seen or heard something suspicious in the 500 block of T Street, NW, or the surrounding area around 5:00 a.m. Sunday [Oct. 27] is asked to call the police or text police,ā€ the statement accompanying the release of the police video says. 

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Comings & Goings

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Gary Fisher

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].Ā 

Congratulations to Rehoboth Beach artist Gary Fisher who will be exhibiting at Aqua Art Miami, during Art Basel week, Dec. 4 – 8, 2024, with Nepenthe Gallery, booth #226. Fisher says these days he creates primarily in his studio and surrounding gardens in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Prior to that he had a studio on 14th Street, N.W., in D.C. He says he found painting, his passion, in mid-life, after a career as a natural resource and environmental attorney. He got active as a participant in the local art scene in D.C. as a founding member of the Mid-City Artists Group and created and managed the Gallery in Results the Gym, on Capitol Hill. He also served as the Managing Art Director for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and is now an active member of the Rehoboth Art League. 

Fisher paints in oils and his artwork ranges from the textural abstract landscape work that has been the focus of his major recent work, to brilliantly colored still life, figurative paintings and recently he has had an interest in small plein-air paintings inspired from the poppy fields of Provence, and his own beautiful gardens in Rehoboth.

He talks about his art as an expression of the ā€œbeauty I see all around me, particularly the coastal environment with its beautiful sunrises and sunsets reflecting off the wetlands and bays of Delaware, the gardens around my studio, or the amazing places I travel on my active biking, hiking, and painting trips.ā€  

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Baltimore

5 more Salisbury students charged after man said he was lured to apartment attack

Suspects allegedly targeted victim on Grindr

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Twelve total Salisbury University students have been charged in an attack, which police said was captured on video, that is being investigated as a hate crime. (Photo from Tom Nappi/Office of the Maryland Governor)

By CODY BOTELER | Five more Salisbury University students have been charged in an alleged attack where a man said he was lured into an apartment and punched, kicked, and spat on because of his ā€œsexual preferences,ā€ the Salisbury Police Department said Thursday afternoon.

The latest charges come after seven students were arrested earlier in the week, in an incident law enforcement officials are investigating as a hate crime.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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