Cop Fired for Gay Porn Wants His Job Back

From Steve Rothaus’ Gay South Florida:

Michael Verdugo’s 15 minutes of porn film fame cost him his job as a Hollywood police officer and his budding career as “Mikey V” of HGTV’s Design Star.

Verdugo is fighting to get back his police job and is preparing to sue the police department for discrimination.

Hollywood Police fired Verdugo — and Design Star dumped him — after a 1996 video turned up on the Internet showing the future cop in a 15-minute bondage scene from a gay porn flick called Rope Rituals.

“I don’t regret it,” Verdugo, 35, said of his one-time appearance at age 22 in porn, three years before he became a police officer. “It was a time in my life that I wanted to explore.”

Verdugo — billed as Jeremy Wess in Rope Rituals — said he performed nude in the short scene, but didn’t engage in hardcore sex. “It was all role-playing bondage. I was tied. I used handcuffs later on in my career.”

Just after the video turned up in July 2008, Design Star uninvited Mikey V from a reunion episode. Hollywood Police put Verdugo on administrative leave with pay. An investigation followed and the department fired him in January 2009 for not disclosing on his police application that he had made the porn film. An arbitrator recently upheld the termination.

Now, Verdugo has asked his attorney, Alberto Milian, to file a civil lawsuit against Hollywood Police for wrongful termination and discrimination.

“When you’re a gay cop in a paramilitary organization like law enforcement, a lot of discrimination exists,” said Milian, a Coral Gables criminal defense attorney who also specializes in labor law for police officers and firefighters. “He was a damn good cop. This guy was an asset and there’s no doubt his talents were very useful to the people of Hollywood.”

Read entire post here!

Gay Ex-Cop Wins Harassment Suit

The city of Millville, New Jersey has agreed to pay former police officer, Robert Colle, $415,000 in a settlement for a lawsuit filed by Colle which accused the chief at the time, and other officers of harassing him because he is gay.

As part of the settlement, Colle has agreed to resign from the Millville police force, after being on leave since August 2007.

Colle said city officials ignored his repeated complaints about the harassment, and said that fellow officers refused to back him up when he was dealing with a disorderly woman, which according to a statement in he legal filings, the woman bit his finger to the bone.

Gay Police to March in Scotland for First Time

From DeadlineScotland:

GAY POLICE will be marching in their uniform for the first time in Scotland when they join the gay pride march in Edinburgh tomorrow.

Seventy members of the Gay Police Association from around the UK will be taking part after getting permission from their chief constable.

Thousands of people are expected to start their march down the Royal Mile at 1pm after hearing speeches from a number of invited guests.

And the historic decision comes exactly 40 years after the Stonewall riots in New York, where a police crackdown at the Stonewall Inn sparked three nights of battles in the streets of Greenwich Village.

Gay Jamaican Police Officer Speaks Out

Taken from GBMNews; Written By Michelle Bromley-McChie

This interview of Constable Michael Hayden sheds light on the plight of a gay officer in the world most homophobic country… Jamaica. Hayden risked his career and life when he come out while on the force. Listen to his stunning statements about the abuse he faced from his fellow officers and supervisors.

UK Police Come Out in Full Force for Gay Pride

The world’s largest ever police contingent to take part in a gay pride parade will be seen this Saturday during Manchester Pride.

Up to 300 officers and staff from forces across the country will lead the parade as Pride celebrates its 18th birthday.

Senior police officers will also participate, including Cheshire Police’s chief constable and incoming Greater Manchester Police (GMP) chief Peter Fahy.

The parade entry is organized by Police with Pride, which consists of LGBT representatives from forces across the North West who organize and promote the event not only in the North West, but nationally.

Police officers and staff from 16 forces across the UK will attend.

Read the rest at pinknews.co.uk.