It did not surprise many of us when the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of gay activist Will Walters’ lawsuit against the city and San Diego Police Department, and was granted a jury trial. Judge Harry Pregerson even stated, “Why don’t we just say that this was a bad call by a police officer?” But it was most certainly more than that. Walters was wearing a leather gladiator costume and his buttocks were partially covered by a Roman-like loin cloth. This all happened at the 2011 LGBT Pride Festival, which makes it even more outrageous as everyone knows that police just stand by and smile and enjoy the infamous “Over the Line” tournament where women’s breasts and butts are on full display, including xxx-rated G-string swimsuits.
Will Walters was taken into custody by the police department and was treated badly, and subjected to taunts and mistreatment by both police officers and deputies at the jail. One police officer called him a “drama queen.” The sheriff’s department rightfully apologized to Walters for his treatment as well as to San Diego LGBT Pride. The police department refused, as did the city, under the advice and lead of current City Attorney Jan Goldsmith. In a bold and courageous step, Walters then sued the San Diego Police Department and city, and as usual Goldsmith was once again wasting the taxpayer’s money.
How can we ever forget the gay man “street sidewalk chalk writing” case? While I would not call City Attorney Jan Goldsmith “homophobic,” he certainly has shown his bias and uncomfortable stance with our community. In his almost eight years in office, he has hardly ever interacted with our community nor attended any LGBT events like almost every other city official has. It is obvious that Jan Goldsmith does not have many gay friends because he would not be wearing that 99¢ store hair piece on his head! This case is about selective police enforcement, period. Even city attorney candidate Rafael Castellanos has called this case and that of the street chalk writing case, a waste of taxpayer’s money and a waste of valuable time and priorities of the office of the city attorney. Mr. Castellanos is absolutely right!
But, Walters’ arrest at a San Diego Pride event was actually a lot more. It was an attack on our community and our pride celebrations of freedom and equality, and so the city should settle the suit and apologize to Will Walters and the LGBT community. I have been meeting with each of the four candidates leading the field to be our next city attorney and I believe any of them will be a far superior and “fair” city attorney than the conservative right-wing Goldsmith has been to our community and other communities.
Thank you Will Walters for standing up to discrimination, anti-gay activities and attacks on our community.
Hundreds attend transgender event
Hundreds of people packed The Center for the “standing room only” 13th Annual Transgender Day of Empowerment event. It was most certainly one of the most powerful, prideful and moving LGBT events I’ve attended in a very long time. I sat between Speaker Emeritus Toni Atkins and Councilman Todd Gloria, who have been leaders when it comes to the civil rights of transgender Americans. This year’s event focused on our transgender youth and they were proudly there in big numbers. Their speeches and presentations were very inspiring. Two teenage speakers stood out, and Toni, Todd and I agree that these two young women have what it takes to be future elected public officials and civic leaders, and we hope to mentor them – Lily Rubenstein and Trinity Anne Martinez.
About a half-dozen scholarships were presented to transgender students, and a big thank you and bravo to organizers Connor Maddocks, Tracie O’Brien, Empress Cassandra Marie Stahl, Alexandria Faye Galvan, Sarafina Scapicchio, T.J. Hamilton and everyone involved. The transgender community of San Diego is alive, proud, visible and growing. I am so proud of our transgender sisters and brothers, especially our transgender youth.
Nicole,
I am really tired of your bashing without knowing a thing about me or what I do. First, I have friends and family who are gay and I am very comfortable with that. You don’t know my views because you have never asked. In fact, you have never spoken with me. Second, I am not at all uncomfortable with interacting with gay folks. Third, the so-called chalk case had nothing to do with sexual orientation. It was one of some 20,000 cases our office issued that year. I had about as much to do with it as Kevin Faulconer’s involvement in filling a pot hole on a particular street. I changed office policies on protest cases following that case.
As for the Walters case, this office received the report from police recommending prosecution and our office declined to prosecute the case. You missed that fact, Nicole. I have nothing to apologize for.
This is a lawsuit filed by Walters seeking money. He never was prosecuted. It was thrown out at the trial court and the appellate court has now allowed some of it to continue.
If you ever want to speak with me and ask about anything, please feel free to call. My number is 619-236-6220.
Jan Goldsmith
This is nothing new from Nichole
We all get so tired of Nichole’s mostly black propaganda.
Liz
Another personal attack from Nicole on someone who does not grease her slimy palms. You are a disgrace to the LGBT community.
I am almost certain you previously supported your buddies in the SDPD and criticized Will Walters for protecting his equal rights. Editor, please search the archives to see if Nicole has flipped again
To Jan Goldsmith: You owe Nicole NOTHING. Don’t even waste your time on him. He does NOT speak for our community. What an embarrassment.
Dear City Attorney Goldsmith:
It is unfortunate that you view the people who’s lives can be impacted in a major way by the actions of the City Attorney’s Office as akin to “pot holes”. That speaks volumes about your lack of humanity.
Almost everyone has “friends and family who are gay”. It is not about your “comfort” with that nearly universal circumstance, it is about how you, as City Attorney, treat all members of the LGBT Community. In that regard, you have no record of fairness.
Nicole Murray Ramirez is an internationally renowned LGBT Civil Rights Leader. He has met with every kind of leader all over the world, gay friendly and not. The fact that you could serve two terms of office in his home city of San Diego and never have met him, despite your vast resource of gay family and friends, calls into question your interest, concern, empathy, etc. for the City of San Diego’s extensive LGBT Community and its legitimate aspirations.
You are disingenuous when you say Will Walters, filed a lawsuit seeking “money”, as if that occurred as a stand alone action. The rest of the story is that, as required by the City, Will first filed a claim against the City after he was arrested and jailed without cause at the 2011 Pride Festival (Festival). A police lieutenant had hit on Will, while Will was attending the Festival, and Will rebuffed the lieutenant’s advances. In retaliation the lieutenant then went and rounded up 4 police officers and 6 Pride security personnel and had Will arrested and jailed for violating the City’s Municipal Code on Public Nudity. Your office “declined to prosecute” because the police failed to provide a shred of evidence upon which to make a case. Nicole did not miss that “fact”. It was patently obvious. The police officers’ sole purpose was to punish Will for eliciting their lieutenant’s displeasure, by putting Will in jail overnight. Both the Police Department and the City Attorney’s Office have to date failed to investigate what happened to Will and why. The 5 police officers have given 6 separate and materially contradictory accounts as to what took place. The city attorney assigned to Will’s case declined to even read Will’s complaint and told Will point blank that under your leadership the City Attorney’s Office would never settle a gay civil rights case no matter its substance or merits. Although Will, at that time, would have agreed to a settlement with no monetary component, your office would not discuss any kind of settlement. It was subsequently determined that the police actions had caused Will to experience PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). His claim having been rejected without any consideration by your office, Will had no choice but to sue for financial compensation for the very real life long injuries he suffered. When he sued, your office put out the word that in retribution Will’s character would be trashed and I would be ruined financially. Your office has made every attempt to make good on that statement.
As Nicole’s article rightly states, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Will should have a legitimate opportunity to pursue his suit against the City for the discriminatory effect of The City’s enforcement of its nudity policy, and the permanent damage that that act of discrimination has done to Will. One justice said outright that Will’s arrest was “a bad call by a police officer”. Unfortunately police can not be sued for violating Will’s Constitutional Right against unreasonable search and seizure, due to the Police Officers Bill of Rights that shields them from virtually any prosecution for wrong doing.
As City Attorney you are responsible not just for ensuring that the common citizen follows the law, but also that the City’s police officers follow the law. Nicole did not ask you to apologize for anything. He said the City should apologize. Your blindness and obstinacy in denying that the Constitutional protections afforded all United States Citizens, apply equally to those of us who also happen to be LGBT is painfully obvious. An apology from anyone at the City would have been the honorable thing to do given the outrageous manner Will has been treated by the City. One does not have to know a person personally to detect the essence of their character from their actions or inactions. Your conduct and that of your office in this matter is demonstrably bigoted and dishonorable. Any decent gentleman would be abjectly ashamed.
Very Respectfully,
Ben Dillingham