gay people's

September 1989

SID PUBLIC LIBRARY COCME SCENCES DEPT. PERIODICAL

Library

51959

Volume 5 Issue 3

jo Soc

Cleveland, Ohio

An Independent Chronicle of the Lesbian & Gay Community

Cleveland police harass gay men and lose

by Martha Pontoni

On July 12, Brian Thomas and Bill Kelly were taking a walk around the block. They had just left Numbers and were on West 6th Street when they saw the flashing lights and heard the sirens. As they started to leave, two Cleveland police pulled up and arrested them, and four others, for aggravated disorderly conduct. The police then left to go and tow cars at Man's World.

Brian Thomas was brought to trial and won his case. On August 22, Judge Carl Stokes found that Thomas had not been disorderly and acquitted him of the charge. In issuing his ruling, Judge Stokes explained, "If he was really bad, the charge would have been more serious. I do not feel comfortable finding him guilty." But the story the officers told on the stand and the story Brian and his friend Bill Kelly tell are totally different.

On the stand, Sgt. Roger Dennerll and

a patrolman testified that Brian stood in front of an illegally parked car the officers were trying to tow. According to Thomas and Kelly, there was no car and they had never seen Sgt. Dennerll before.

The stories told by the police weren't even good enough to stand up in court. But they exemplify the rash of gay related arrest and harassment by the Cleveland Police Department.

In an interview with the Chronicle before the Thomas trial, Sgt. Dennerll explain an harassment incident at Man's World (located at West 29th and Detroit) that same night he supposedly arrested Thomas and Kelly. Dennerll said his taskforce were towing illegally parked cars because "we got a call from an 80-year-old woman who had to walk between parked cars to get the bus." The Man's World raid took place after midnight.

According to Aubrey Wertheim of the Lesbian/Gay Community Service Cen-

Chameleon seeking women's building

by Susan J. Tabell

Chameleon L.G.P. (Let's Get Progressive) Inc. is a non-profit organization formed by several Clevelandarea businesswomen and dedicated to buying a building to be run by and for the women's community of Northeast Ohio.

The majority of Chameleon's board of directors are former volunteers on the Women's Building Project's finance committee.

The board has tentatively set the purchase date for the building for midor late 1990, and is considering downtown Cleveland as a possible site.

A central location was unanimously approved by the board in order to bring recognition not only to Cleveland's large feminist and lesbian community, but also that of the outlying suburbs and counties. Cleveland provides easy access for all of Northeast Ohio due to the culmination of Interstates 77, 71, 90 and 480 near Public Square.

Designs for Chameleon's building were developed by the board during weekly planning sessions. The building will include rental office space, retail stores and social areas for concerts,

shows, 12-step programs and various interest programs and activities, all to be housed in an environment of safe space.

The financial obligations will be met thru rent revenue, donations of public support and fund-raisers, such as the Tea Dance sponsored by Chameleon at The Ritz last month. Keith Dunhill, manager of The Ritz, has offered the club's services every other Sunday of the month. Events like the Tea Dance or theme dances and a road rally are being considered.

Open to community opinions and ideas, the initial responsibilities of Chameleon's operation will be that of the board. Input on personal and professional levels by the public is anticipated by the board and can be done as a volunteer or supporter.

Chameleon has eight members on the board of directors now and is limited to 15. Anyone interested in applying should contact Yvonne at 932-9820. at

Newcomers are welcome Chameleon's weekly planning sessions at 7 p.m. on Sunday and usually held at the Inn on Coventry. Call Yvonne at the above number for site verification ▼

Robert Legge Jr.: AIDS educator

Robert Legge Jr., of Cleveland died at home on August 18 of complications due to AIDS. He was 33. He survived by his lover, David Shaw, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Legge Sr. of Euclid, and many brothers and sisters. He lived with the disease for nearly four years.

Bob was active in a number of AIDS related projects and organizations in the Cleveland area. He served as member of the Health Isuues Taskforce Board of Directors and Speakers Bureau. Bob was active in establishing the first support group for people with AIDS in the Cleveland area. He was also co-chair of the Cleveland display of the NAMES Project held in June of 1988.

Bob was an early proponent of educating the community about AIDS. He spoke to a number of groups about the disease, its impact on him, his friends, and family, and the need to provide support to those impacted by AIDS. Many times, he spoke to people who were poorly educated about the disease;

through his efforts he was able to correct misconceptions about AIDS and people with AIDS.

ter, which monitors harassment against lesbians and gay men, the officers arrived at Man's World with three tow trucks, five squad cars and one unmarked car. The officers towed three cars, only one of which was parked illegally. Man's World was cited for an open container violation when a patron of the bar ran outside with a drink in his hand to protest the towing of his car. It is also reported that the officers went inside Man's World and frisked four patrons. This "frisking" included the officers putting their hands down the pockets of the men. One patron reports that he was sexually molested during the frisking.

Sergeant Dennerll insisted that no one was frisked because he did not have enough men with him that night, and that the officers were just there to tow cars. Dennerll also stated that he asked the patron with the drink to go back into the bar but the patron refused.

Sgt. Dennerll, denied that there was a purposeful raid against gay men that

night. "No one is going after homosexuals; no one is harassing the homosexual community. If there is any harassment by my officers, I will stop it."

According to Kelly, the ordeal of being arrested included being called such names as “cocksucker,” “faggot," "fairy," and "limp wrist." Officers repeatedly told Kelly, "Let me give you a bit of advice. Stay in the suburbs and suck cock."

The Center reports that over 30 men have been arrested in the parking lot across the street from the West 6th Street Book Store. All the arrests reported to the Center have been accompanied by anti-gay remarks. Only Thomas and Kelly have challenged the arrests. Kelly's trial is set for late October. Since the raid on Man's World, the bar has changed its name to the Ohio City Oasis.

If you have been a victim of Cleveland Police harassment please report the incident to the Lesbian/Gay Community Service Center or the Chronicle. ▼

Romanovsky and Phillips:

a duo not to be missed by Daniel P.

"Only an asshole would care/What goes in our assholes and who puts it there," sing Romanovsky and Phillips in "The Sodomy Song."

If you've sleuthed out a copy of one of R&P's albums, "Emotional Rollercoaster," you recognize these lyrics. And you probably don't miss a chance to tell your friends about what a find you've made.

—

Ron Romanovsky and Paul Phillips are coming to town to Akron's Gardner Student Center at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. Don't miss them. They spread their wacky humor and Catholic music styles over the country like Jules

Feiffer strews daisies over Manhattan. R&P may or may not be the only openlygay entertainers who deal with gay and lesbian topics, but they're certainly the best.

Romanovsky says, "Perhaps I should have joined the women's movement," and maybe he will yet. At any rate, women are often included in the pair's songs, not as a separate group but as a necessary part of the gay community.

The duo's acerbic wit and wildly different music have energized gays and straights, mamas and papas, even closeted heterosexuals wearing Anita Bryant buttons.

Try 'em. Unless you're just too weird altogether, you'll like 'em. Call Akron for tickets, 1-923-3729. Tickets are $5-$10. ▼