Comments on: Gay Man Arrested For Mocking Police Bigotry

By: isa

isa — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:52:16 +0000

Mr Tuma may have behaved inappropriately, but I'm not sure hurting a cop's feelings is an arrestable offense.

By: Jeff, Washington, DC

Jeff, Washington, DC — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:53:26 +0000

Apparently law enforcement officers need to be protected under new hate crime legislation too.

Whether the arresting officer will be diciplined will come out in the wash, but shame on Mr. Tuma for antagonizing the officers. Their lives are on the line for us daily, and shouting attacks from across a street does indeed disturb the peace and is indeed disorderly.

By: Doug in Mount Vernon

Doug in Mount Vernon — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:30:13 +0000

Being silly or stupid, as Tuma may have been, does NOT requier an arrest.

Sorry, this one goes against the officer.

By: Pepin Tuma

Pepin Tuma — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 01:30:08 +0000

[...] 26th for disorderly coneduct on 17th Street, NW. Tuma was reportedly discussing the … Gay Man Arrested For Mocking Police BigotryPepin Tuma, a 33-year-old gay man, was discussing the recent arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis [...]

By: hey

hey — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:20:09 +0000

Eventhough, I am gay I feel that Tuma was acting inappropriately and offensively towards the arresting officer. If the officer was 50 ft away, Mr. Tuma must have been very loud and obnoxious. Sounds like Tuma was trying to incite a ruckus. Just because he is Gay and an attorney does not give him special priviledges. If anything the officer should be reprimanded but not fired.

By: Mark Zamen

Mark Zamen — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:59:31 +0000

From what I see here, this arrest was not at all justified. Tuma had every right to express his opinion of police, and the officer violated the man's First Amendment rights. I hope Tuma does persue this matter and contests all charges. This entire incldent is a disgrace to law enforcement in general and Culp in particular, and is yet another reminder that a large segment of society still regards gay men and women as second-class citizens - or worse. That is the salient point of my recently released biographical novel, Broken Saint. It is based on my forty-year friendship with a gay man, and chronicles his internal and external struggles as he battles for acceptance (of himself and by others). More information on the book is available at http://www.eloquentbooks.com/BrokenSaint.html.

Mark Zamen, author

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By: Steve Goodman

Steve Goodman — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:44:50 +0000

While Tuma was certainly provoking the police, Officer Culp certainly overstepped his boundaries and abused his power. Remember officers: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

By: JamesNYC

JamesNYC — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:45:21 +0000

Yeah he was being an asshole, but he's making a very important point and I hope this case gets more coverage. We supposedly have free speech in this country so long as it doesn't threaten or plan/incite illegal activity. Now these lawyers decided to engineer a situation that would test the limits of our free speech rights in a real world setting.

By: paul

paul — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:10:08 +0000

Yeah people shouldnt be allowed to say they hate the police it should be illegal

By: Creativemeat

Creativemeat — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:18:40 +0000

Fag or not, why be an asshole and provoke?