By John Tom Schiavone, June 1976, page A12
Recently the U.S. Supreme Court refused to extend the Constitutional right to privacy to include homosexual relationships. Although the decision received national publicity, from most gays it has gotten little more than a shrug. Nevertheless, its ramifications are quite serious and are already being demonstrated. In turning responsibility for limiting personal privacy back to the states, the Court has given law enforcement agencies leave to deal with suspects as they see fit.
In Philadelphia this is particularly alarming, for since the ruling the number of arrests due to police harassment of gay men has risen greatly. Anyone who doesn’t have a live-in companion is vulnerable, but very few people know about the dynamics of harassment or how to react if they become victims of it. Let’s take a closer look.
Most victims of entrapment are caught cruising entirely alone at night. Very often they are trapped in their own neighbohroods by police on “routine reconnaissance missions.” According to police logic anyone out alone, looking gay and acting gay is very probably a hustler. They reach this conclusion because they cannot imagine why anyone would want to perform a homosexual act for any reason except to get money—and, of course, doing it for money is against the law. Unfortunately, as perverse as such thinking is, the police can cite a number of recent felonies to support it (e.g., the John Knight case).
Something to keep in mind is that the vice squad always works in teams. This is so that when one member of the team makes a “pinch” the other can swear that his companion did not initiate the proposition. They also dress for their role. Each of them is equipped with a pistol, but these are well concealed, usually worn tucked into the belt, covered by a jacket or coat. During the summer they often wear shirts with the tails hanging out. Remember this next time you consider picking up a number because he reminds you of James Dean.
To be arrested you need not actually proposition the police officer. Keep in mind that an invitation to “go for a walk” or to “take a ride” will probably be enough. In recent weeks, however, there have been instances in which evidently no provocation of any kind was involved. This is believable because the cops get merit points and even time off for bringing in more than their quota.
When a cop thinks he’s got you he won’t waste any time. He will offer to take you, or to accompany you to your place or to his, will feign reaching into his pocket for something ordinary, then come out with his badge and a cheery “I’m a police officer.” (Vice cops must be trained to do that because they always do.) The other half of the team will now appear. He will frisk you, inform you of your rights and perhaps even handcuff you. From this moment on, you are under arrest.
For the moment, there isn’t a damn thing you can do—except make the situation easier on yourself. How you are handled by the police will depend largely on how you handle yourself. The whole point of police harassment is to humiliate and inconvenience. If you keep your wits about you, you will be able to endure much more nobly than if you lapse into trauma.
When you see the badge, do not panic or become belligerent. Vice cops are not accomplished at debating about what they do., but they are trained to hit very hard. The best policy is to be civil and silent. You still have a constitutional right to remain silent. Use it. Give the police whatever identification you can supply (you ought to carry some always). Answer only questions relating to your identity and address. They do not need to know other information suggested by your identification. For example, many victims report that the police ask about activities in certain baths or why certain bars require memberships, and so on. If they were supposed to know such things, they would know them already. If you volunteer information you might be giving them something they can use to harass another gay. Be calm, but be firm and silent.
When you get to the precinct station you will be seated while one of the arresting officers fills out complaint forms. These record the time and place of arrest and so on. One of these forms also requests a succinct statement by the officer as to the reason for the arrest. Those statements represent some of the best fiction written in Philadelphia since Poe lived here. Generally they have absolutely nothing to do with what actually happened, but they reveal much about what the police think gay people do. The complaint usually purports to record that the accused inviting the officer to “take turns fucking and blowing,” or that the accused offered “to masturbate the officer repeatedly,” or simply that he “tried to engage the officer in VDSI” (voluntary deviant sexual intercourse).
These complaints are allotted one to a suspect—at least I’ve never seen one wherein the officer claimed that someone offered to fuck him and blow him and masturbate him all on one date! Maybe this is because the vice cops are self-conscious about seeming to know too much—or maybe they really don’t know very much! Probably you will not get to see the complaint until you are arraigned. This is just as well. It will only upset you. You will get a copy later anyway.
When the forms are finished, the police will probably tell you something like: “No one ever has to know about this, so it won’t do you any good to call a lawyer. All he can do is take your money. You are not charged with a serious crime, and probably you will not be prosecuted. You will be taken to ‘the Round house’ for processing and then you will be let go. The whole procedure will take from one to three hours.”
Don’t believe a word of it. What they are really saying is that it will be anywhere from 6 to 12 hours before they run out of ways to make you guess what happens next. During that time you will be treated like a criminal and will be in the company of whomever is dragged in that night for whatever reason.
Call a lawyer or someone comparable immediately. They will let you do this. If you don’t have a lawyer or can’t reach one, call a friend. Tell him what has happened, where you are, where you are going and that it is likely that you will need him to post bond for you within the coming hours. Generally, if bail is levied for VDSI or the like, and it is a first offense, the sum will be $300. A Philadelphia resident may post 1/10 of that plus court costs for himself or for someone else: a total of $33 in cash.
You are now out of the hands of the arresting officers. They have turned you over to the local “turn key” who will lock you in a small retaining cell, actually a sort of cage in a corner of the station room. You might wait there a couple of hours before a van comes to pick up you and whoever else is going to “the Roundhouse” with you. In the meantime, you will be tortured by having to listen to the cops boast about the PAL (Police Athletic League) games and the PBA (Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association) talent show and grouse about their unrewarded devotion. It can be really excruciating.
When the van arrives you and your companions will be led out of the cage and handcuffed. (Why it is necessary to handcuff a lone faggot who has been frisked but not charged with a felony is really puzzling. My speculation is that they do it just so they can touch us. After all, not everybody can be on the vice squad.) You will now be trundled through the streets to Sixth and Race.
“The Roundhouse” is the largest municipal police station in the world, built under the auspices of then police chief Frank Rizzo. It is not really round, but rather twisted and misshapen. Inside it is labyrinthine and utterly cheerless. In its basement are more police retaining rooms. When you arrive there you will have to empty your pockets of anything suspicious and you will be fingerprinted. Later you will be photographed (the “mug shot”), weighed, measured, and your physical characteristics recorded. Later still you will be questioned concerning your eligibility for assistance in posting bail. If you are single and not on welfare, you are ineligible.
After fingerprinting, you will be locked in “the tank.” This is another retaining room, but it is called “the tank” because it is enclosed by the same kind of plexiglass that protects fish in aquariums from the people who like to see them confined. It is lined with tile and wooden benches, and is designed temporarily to detain about 15 men in Spartan discomfort. There are phones in the tank but you cannot dial the operator on them, nor can anyone call in. If you have change, you’ll use it quickly; if you don’t you’ll be very lonely.
“The tank” always contains a motley crew. There is always someone bleeding, and someone who seems to have TB, and someone who has seriously knifed—but not killed—someone. It is a squalid, splintery place in which many cashmere sweaters have been worn for the last time. The only amusement might be the graffiti. The benches are covered with the scratchings of “Cornbread,” “Kaptain Kool” and other names you’re sure to recognize. Perhaps only the Tower of London preserves the insignias of more rogues and throneless monarchs.
When magistrates are available, court is in session almost continuously day and night, except between 4am and 8am. Usually, dockets of 12 detainees are arraigned every two hours. Because most arrests due to harassment are made late at night, it is likely that you will not come up for a hearing until the next morning. This is one instance in which having a lawyer can be an advantage. It is possible that he can have you brought to a hearing more quickly.
When your turn finally comes around, you will be handcuffed to another detainee and led up to a courtroom. When you are called before the magistrate, you will be re-informed of the charge against you. Some people are under the impression that at this time one enters a plea of guilt or innocence. Not so. At the hearing the magistrate will set bail and enter a date for trial. You will be asked only if you can afford a lawyer. Answer simply yes or no. If you can’t afford one, the court will appoint one for you. You must appear with a lawyer if eventually you have to go to court. At this point, if someone is there to pay your bail, he may make himself known, and settle with the clerk. You may then go.
If you are arraigned before 10 am, however, it is unlikely that anyone can get into a bank to get the cash for you. In that case, you will be re-handcuffed and taken back downstairs—this time to a real cell. Here you will wait for someone to come with the money, or you will wait for the van to come take you to the House of Detention. I don’t know of any gay men who have been taken there on a charge of solicitation. But I don’t doubt that it has happened. The House of Detention is a real Fortune and Men’s Eyes style jail. You must remain there for two days if you refuse or are unable to pay bail. I have posted bond for men I didn’t even know just so they wouldn’t have to go there.
When your bail has been paid, you will be set free—almost. In all likelihood, charges against you will not be dismissed at the hearing, and you will be scheduled for a trial. However, in very few such cases does the district attorney’s office prosecute. In about two weeks after the hearing you will receive a letter informing you whether your case is to be dropped. Even if it is, it is a good idea to have a lawyer, so they can have the record of your arrest expunged. Do not neglect to have this done, as soon as possible. In another recent decision, the Supreme Court refused to expand the definition of personal liberty to include the right to protect one’s reputation against unfounded police statements. It goes almost without saying that records of the unsavory sort have a way of multiplying and turning up unexpectedly. Expungement can avoid this, since all of the records pertaining to your arrest will be removed from the court files, and if you are ever questioned about having been arrested no incriminating documents will be available. The lawyer’s fee for this is usually not high, but be sure to discuss it with them first. Of course, if your case is one of those brought to trial, your only hope is to secure the services of a good trial lawyer and follow their advice.
Police harassment must stop. How this is to be done, I don’t know. The recent decisions have been a set-back, but they too can in time be overturned. In the meantime, we have to beat the rule makers at their own game. If they can depend on fear and ignorance of their methods, they will only feed on their success. To let that happen would really be a crime.