Police Investigate Arrest of Gay Attorney

Officer allegedly directed gay slur at attorney

Oh dear, just as we were wrapping up the National Conversation on Race sparked by the Cambridge arrest of black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., it now looks like we might -- cross your fingers! -- get a National Conversation on Gay, after what appears to be a controversial arrest in D.C. a few days ago, of a gay guy.

D.C. resident Pepin Tuma, 33, an openly gay lawyer, was arrested shortly after midnight on July 26 at 17th an U streets in Northwest, where many gay people reside. For some reason he was shouting his blanket opinion about law enforcement officers to his two friends, on the street.

District resident Pepin Tuma, 33, an attorney in private practice, said the arrest took place at 17th and U streets, N.W., shortly after midnight July 26, seconds after a police officer overheard him telling two friends “jokingly” and in a loud voice, “I hate the police.”

Unfortunately a policeman was standing nearby and simply did not care for Tuma's sentiment.

He said the officer, later identified as Second District Officer J. Culp, pushed him against a transformer box, placed him under arrest and handcuffed him without immediately informing him of the charge.

“As Officer Culp moved me toward a police cruiser, he told me to ‘just shut up, faggot,’” Tuma told [D.C. Police Chief Cathy] Lanier in his e-mail.

Well, that's not very nice.

Tuma paid a fine and was released as part of a "post and forfeit" plea, but he plans to contest the charge in court. Lanier, meanwhile, has ordered an internal investigation.

Cops are so sensitive these days!

Jim Newell writes for Wonkette and IvyGate.

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