Veteran Officer Defends Palm Springs Sex Sting

The Palm Springs Police Department breathed a little easier Thursday one day after an Indio judge refused to dismiss the cases against 14 men arrested for having public sex. Their arrests came as part of a controversial 2009 sting in the Warm Sands Area.

The men claimed they were unfairly targeted because they are gay, but the judge disagreed.

News Channel 3 crews sat in the back of Officer Don Dougherty’s patrol car for a little more than an hour as he covered the night beat.

Every night he rides up and down the streets of the northeastern end of Palm Springs.

“The grass is not greener on the other side,” he said. “This is probably one of the best places to work, mainly because of the level of professionalism that we train our officers with.”

He’s a veteran of the force, having spent his entire career in Palm Springs, and he’s loved all 27 years, he said.

“This is a good community,” said Dougherty. “It’s a safe community, but more than anything else, the guys that I work with and their attention to detail makes all the difference in the world when it comes to officer safety.”

From fires to murders, car accidents to domestic violence, Dougherty has seen it all.

He’s been injured in the line of duty and has also had to fire his weapon, but Dougherty said he’s dedicated to the people he serves and who he serves with.

That’s why he said its been difficult for him to watch his department take heat for conducting a 2009 public sex sting in the Warm Sands area of Palm Springs.

“It wasn’t done in any sort of prejudicial or bias fashion,” he said. “It was done the way we would do any other sting; didn’t matter who was involved. We were addressing the criminal activity, or the people themselves or their orientation.”

Dougherty was not involved in the sting, but said he knows the officers who were.

He said, in no way, did the department unfairly target gay men — as the defendants claimed in court.

“If it’s not obvious that it’s a complete and total defensive tactic smoke screen to avoid prosecution, then who ever doesn’t believe that is completely and utterly blind,” he said.

Unlike the defense argued, Doughtery said gay couples aren’t the only one people who have been arrested for having sex in public within city limits.

“I’ve made many arrests of heterosexuals having sex in public,” he said. “It’s always been in response to a complaint.”