Slate.com have just published an article in which they announce that a Californian judge has just sent a seething message to police who illegally target gay men in sting operations.
The police reports all began with the same boilerplate language: Citizens had complained of lewd conduct in several public bathrooms around Long Beach, California—bathrooms known as popular spots for cruising, or semi-public sex between gay men. These complaints, the reports explained, prompted the vice detail to investigate. Undercover officers entered the bathrooms in question as neutral observers and were quickly solicited for sex by gay men. Once the men exposed themselves, the officers arrested them and charged them. Over several years, the Long Beach police arrested scores of gay men this way. Or so their reports claimed.
There was one problem: The police reports were false.
Check out the full article here and let us know in the comments if police in your area are abusing their power.