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Written by jay
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Monday, 21 July 2008 02:57 |
We admit to having a little bit of a prejudice against the more conservative city to our south, but after a major gay bashing that occurred just after San Diego Pride in 2006, and after a man was shot by police during this year's festivities, Gay Pride in San Diego isn't at the top of our list of fave destinations. In fairness, the man was shot following an incident on a boat during a post-pride chartered dance-and-booze cruise, not during the parade itself. And it sounds like the man was both drunk (he had fallen/jumped off of the boat and had to be rescued) and resisting arrest (he took one of the officers' Tasers and was also, allegedly, reaching for his gun). Still, it's not the best PR for the city's gay life, and it still sounds like the cops might have fucked up here (the victim was, after all, some drunk fag who fell off a boat).
The man was pronounced dead, and identified as Steven Paul Hirschfield
of West Hollywood, who, near as we can tell, was a sometimes actor with
a single, possibly soft-core B-movie credit to his name.
UPDATE:
That did all, perhaps, sound overly negative. But we don't honestly believe that guy was such a serious threat to the cops that they needed to kill him (we believe the rulebooks say they should be trying to wound, not kill, and we think the black community of New York City would feel us on this... ).
Anyway, there are plenty of happy gays living happily in SD, and here are some photos of the happier moments of San Diego's Pride parade on Saturday before that whole messy shooting incident, c/o Alexsander7, Mistress Pussycat and San Francisco Fred on Flickr.
RELATED:
Another Pride Season Kicks Off: Prepare to Feel Ashamed
Police Shoot, Kill Man at San Diego Pride Event (365gay.com)
Men Accused of Gay Bashing Appear in Court (NBC San Diego)
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Comments
Do you guys realize how this this statement:
"...he took one of the officers' Taser and was also reaching for his gun..."
and this statement:
"...it sounds like the cops fucked up here."
are completely contradictory????
A suspect goes for a gun, that officer HAS to, within that split-second, shoot to kill. END OF STORY.
These cops have made a promise to their wives, partners, children and families to come home alive at the end of their shifts. There is no time to anaylze the motives of an assailant.
Don't blame the police. Blame the permissive attitude in the gay community towards alcohol and widespead use of drugs.