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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

April, 1991

Courage prevails for Ohio's only openly-gay trooper

by Joan Rizzo

Brett M. Godfrey has been flying Old Glory in his front yard long before it became the fashionable thing to do. He is proud of his country, and once inside his comfortable two-story home in Newton Falls, one quickly notices the pride he takes in his job as a trooper with the Ohio Highway Patrol.

Plaques and certificates from the 12year veteran's career hang on the walls of every room. Included in all the memorabilia is an unusual version of the "Serenity Prayer," strategically placed near the mirror where he shaves. The last line of the prayer reads, "God, grant me the courage not to give up on what I think is right, even though I think it is hopeless." Brett Godfrey is someone who never gives up, even at a time when he thought that being gay and having a career as a trooper was nearly impossible.

Godfrey is the first and only trooper in the history of the Ohio Highway Patrol to come out as gay. He began to come out to co-workers in 1982. Gradually, word spread, and in 1984, Tpr. Godfrey's post commander confronted him with the issue of his sexual orientation.

Prepared for trouble, Godfrey had his attorney standing by for a battle that eventually involved the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, the Department of Highway Safety, the Ohio attorney general's office, and attorney Rhonda Rivera past president of Stonewall Union of Columbus, professor of law at Ohio State, and a member of former Gov. Richard Celeste's advisory board on gay and lesbian rights.

It was a battle against the last vestige of patriarchal control-the exclusive white-

male ranks of a rigid system patterned after the U.S. Marine Corps: a system that had rejected anyone under five feet, nine inches in height, in addition to minorities and women.

Over the past fifteen years, these restrictions were abolished by order of the federal government, and the Highway Patrol now reflects the diversity of other state organizations. Yet, telling the Patrol it had to keep a gay man in its macho ranks was unprecedented. The key to Godfrey's success lies in the strong character of this 32year-old, dark-haired man with clear blue eyes. His confidence, tenacity, and optimism make it easy to see why the Patrol hired him initially, and how he eventually prevailed in his struggle to retain his rightful place in the system.

After graduating from Newton Falls High School in 1976, Godfrey followed in his father's footsteps and took a job with Conrail as a machine operator. For most of his young life, Brett knew he was gay: "I assumed that everyone close to me already knew, but was too polite to say so. I didn't act on it until I was older, of course. It was something I suppressed." Brett started going out when he worked for the railroad. "I came out to the gay community but was still pretty closeted. My friends, family, and co-workers still didn't know."

After three years with Conrail, Godfrey grew restless for a more challenging career. He decided to pursue a lifelong dream: "The Patrol is considered a cut above, and it was something I've wanted to do since I was a kid, to become a state trooper." (State police forces generally have greater resources available to them than local departments the Ohio High-

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way Patrol employs approximately 1,200 troopers, dispatchers, and administrative personnel.)

In 1979, Godfrey applied at the Warren post Every prospective trooper must undergo a thorough background investigation which includes an interview in the applicant's home. As Godfrey had expected, the trooper assigned to interview him included a question about sexual orientation in the fivehour interview.

According to Godfrey, "Homosexuality in itself was dismissable in those days. As a matter of survival, I knew that it absolutely could not be revealed that I was gay. But I didn't have to lie when the question came up: 'Have you ever been approached by a homosexual?' I could honestly answer 'no,' be-

Trooper Brett Godfrey

cause I had always been the one to approach other guys first." Godfrey was hired as a dispatcher and sent to the Ashland Patrol Post until the 107th cadet class convened at the training academy in Columbus in January, 1980. He graduated in May, and was assigned to the Castalia post on the Ohio Turnpike, near Cedar Point. Godfrey enjoyed his work as a new trooper, but soon found himself in a closed system where co-workers are friends, and "you're always on duty." He scrambled to find women to accompany him to award banquets and retirement parties. His dates were disasters, and he found himself in the throes of a classic dilemma:

"I was so preoccupied with people finding out I was gay that it took a lot of my energy away from other things and prohibited me from excelling in what I was doing at the time. Your energy is diverted into building images of yourself as you think others want to see you. That's a lot of work. And because you're doing all that, you don't have the time and energy to devote to how you want to do your job or how you want your relationships with others to really be. It's damaging, emotionally, to go through that."

In 1982, Godfrey came out to a close friend on the Patrol. The other trooper thought nothing of it and was very accepting. He is now married with children and has remained friends with Brett over the years. Encouraged by such a positive response, Godfrey gradually came out to other troopers at his post. By 1984, word had reached the brass, who were not as open to the idea.

One day, the post commander called Godfrey into his office and asked pointblank, "Are you a homosexual?" Brett had expected something like this. He had sought his attorney's advice beforehand and refused to answer any questions from his employer about his sexual orientation, based on his constitutional right to privacy.

Tpr. Godfrey's rights were also protected under Ohio Executive Order 83-64, which was signed by former Gov. Richard Celeste in 1983. The order prohibits discrimination "in state employment against any individual based on the individual's sexual orientation." The Patrol had not understood at the time how far out on a limb they had gone. They went out even farther, however, when they offered to pay for Tpr. Godfrey to take an HIV-antibody

test. According to a grievance filed by Godfrey, the Patrol give him two weeks to consider their offer before they "would give me a direct order to take it." He petitioned the Department of Administrative Services through attorney Rivera.

Rivera led Tpr. Godfrey through the bureaucratic maze of grievances, letters, and forms that were to follow. In the course of two years, more complications arose. In March, 1985, Godfrey requested a transfer back home to be near his ailing parents. His supervisors gave him an "above average" performance evaluation and recommended the transfer. In August 1985, with the Patrol's permission, he spoke to the Cortland chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police about being a gay trooper. The next day, he was told the transfer might not go through.

In a letter to former Highway Safety Director William Denihan, Rivera explained that "unlike private agencies, the State of Ohio is bound by the equal-protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. An order which singled out one trooper raises serious equal protection issues. . . if only gay persons who are asymptomatic are singled out, I believe an HIV-antibody test order would violate Executive Order 8364."

In a recent interview, Rivera recalled how she had recommended immediate education about AIDS testing for the staff of the Patrol. She explained that state agencies must now follow guidelines for HIV testing set forth in the state Hobson Law, in federal laws, and in Health Dept. regulations.

Godfrey concurred that it was a case of "the Patrol just not knowing what to do about a gay member in its ranks. There was a definite ignorance and hysteria surrounding AIDS at the time. And I really don't hold that against them. I just wanted to get on with [doing] my job, but I wasn't going to submit to an HIV-antibody test unless they tested everyone."

In November, 1985, Denihan informed Rivera that after conferring with the attorney general's office, the Highway Patrol decided not to pursue AIDS testing for Tpr. Godfrey. Denihan wrote: "There was no intent to discriminate against him . . . he was not given a direct order to take the test, but was given an opportunity to do so at no

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