Palm Springs Police Officers’ Association Reaction To Judge’s Decision

The following statement was released a short time after Wednesday’s decision on the Warm Sands Sex Sting:

The Palm Springs Police Officers Association was gratified by today’s court ruling against the Motion to Dismiss charges of lewd conduct against 14 of the 19 suspects arrested in the 2009 Warm Sands incident.The police officers of Palm Springs feel that justice was served with the judge’s decision to move this case forward,” explains Palm Springs POA President William Hutchinson. “We did our job, responding to ongoing complaints by neighbors and City Council members about indecent activities in the area. We made arrests based solely on the illegal behavior of the suspects.”Since the Warm Sands arrests, the defense attorney has argued not that his clients were innocent, but that the Palm Springs Police Department singled out gays for sting operations and that the charges should be dropped because of police bias against LGBT residents.Until the Warm Sands incident, the Palm Springs Police Department enjoyed a good relationship with the LGBT community. The department has openly serving gay and lesbian sworn police officers and civilian personnel. Its outreach programs include participation in the Pride Parade and Pride Festival, manning recruiting booths in an effort to attract gay and lesbian officers to careers in law enforcement.Somehow the Warm Sands arrests became totally distorted and an inappropriate comment was singled out as proof of department-wide discrimination and the centerpiece of the suspects’ defense . Voices of reason, years of cooperation with the LGBT community and decorated police service became casualties in this unnecessarily divisive affair. With the Warm Sands arrests, we were protecting the safety and quality of life for all who live there. That’s our job. Now the legal system can uphold its responsibilities.The Palm Spring Police Department is currently staffed by 99 sworn officers, covering 96 square miles, serving 50,000 year-round residents and hosting 2.5-million visitors annually.