Brody's Notes... Questions Linger & Political Fallout Continues From 2009 Gay Sex Sting & Police Chief's Resignation In Palm Springs, California

By Mark Singer (Washington DC) JAN 13 | The questions are lingering with the political fallout ongoing after the outrage spurred on by the 2009 Gay sex sting in Palm Springs, California, which resulted in the resignation of the city’s police chief David Dominguez.

This past Tuesday, Robert Stone, co-founder of the Warm Sands Community Association, where the operation took place said:

"The sting was an egregious case of entrapment, a technique that has been used by law enforcement against gay people for decades. Gays move to Palm Springs to get away from that."

Responding to public complaints of sexual misconduct in public in the city's Warm Sands neighborhood, nineteen men were arrested on charges of public sex crimes and lewd acts as the result of the police department's June 2009 sting operation. All of those arrested have been charged under California Penal Code 314, which, upon conviction, requires them to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives on a computerized data base visible only to law enforcement officers.

During court testimony, it was revealed that several undercover officers were recorded uttering an offensive gay slur during the operation which prompted the city to conduct department-wide sensitivity training.

The training was augmented with an internal review of police procedure during that undercover operation, in which it was disclosed that Chief Dominguez also was named among those accused of making offensive remarks. Dominguez resigned after he acknowledged making an “inappropriate comment” caught on tape.

Joan Wolff, a member of the city's police advisory board and a  however, called the episode a distasteful flexing of Gay political muscle in the city led by only a handful of "noisy" LGBTQ activists. Wolff said the chief was a progressive-minded, well-respected police veteran who came from neighboring Riverside County with positive & glowing professional references. Wolff also noted that after Chief Dominguez had taken the job three years ago, his policies and tactics delivered a significant drop in crime — a success crippled by "one stupid mistake," she said.

"I think this has all been blown way out of proportion. I think this town is scared to do anything against gay people," she said.

The Palm Springs Police Department still maintain that the sting was triggered by numerous complaints from the Warm Sands neighborhood.

"If you read the police report, it sounded like the residents were running down the streets with pitchforks," said Roger Tansey, a public defender representing six of the men arrested. "But I looked into it, and there were not complaints, not one anyone could show me."

What stands out in stark clarity that appears worse he said- the police department hasn't, as far as he could determine, conducted any similar stings against heterosexuals, despite numerous documented complaints about sex in public places.

"What I believe is the Palm Springs Police Department intentionally targeted gays," Tansey said.

In an article published yesterday in the Los Angeles Times, Mr.Tansey said prosecutors charged the men with indecent exposure, an accusation usually reserved for flashing and other predatory acts on unwilling victims, instead of lewd and lascivious behavior. A indecent exposure conviction requires defendants to register for life as sex offenders.

The Times goes on to note:

The incident crystallized the complexities of Palm Spring's aging and established gay community. Gay men and lesbians, by some estimates, account for nearly half of the 47,000 residents. That strength allows them to enjoy the benefits of mainstream power and prominence while leaving them free to cherish the city's playful and at times uninhibited social scene.

The gay community is widely credited for rescuing the piping hot desert town, which was slowly wasting away as it clung to its past heyday as Hollywood's playground. They restored luster to aging homes and neighborhoods and replaced shuttered storefronts with scores of new businesses.

The frolicking yin to that yang includes the annual White Party; a gay pride parade that, on one day every year, doubles the city's population.

The Warm Sands neighborhood where the 2009 sting took place is a mishmash of refurbished 1920s ranches and retro apartments and is home to 11 clothing-optional gay resorts.