Demand answers from police at meetings Wednesday and Thursday

Nineteen Lawsuits Against Him For False Charges Against LGBT People. Why is Officer Fiorito Still on the Street?

Please attend a pair of meetings next week at the police station, 3608 N. Halsted, to help demand answers:

7 PM, Wednesday, August 26th -- Meeting of the station's "LGBT Subcommittee"

6 PM, Thursday, August 27th – Meeting of the "District Advisory Committee"

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Police Officer Richard Fiorito has operated in the heart of the "Boystown" entertainment district and has allegedly targeted numerous Lesbian and Gay motorists for false DUI charges.

During the stops he allegedly berated the arrestees with anti-gay slurs and sometimes roughed them up. Some of his fellow officers had so little confidence in his arrests so they repeatedly advised arrestees that they could beat the charges if they got a good lawyer.

Besides giving vent to his anti-gay bias, Fiorito allegedly made the bogus arrests so that he could ring up overtime pay for court appearances. His fellow officers refer to him as an "overtime whore."

Last year Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) honored Fiorito for being among the state's highest writers of DUI tickets. But now they're apparently thinking better of it.

"These charges are disturbing on many levels," MADD grief therapist and victim advocate David Malham told Edge Chicago. "It is a crucial role that [police officers] are playing in stopping drunk drivers and saving lives. For [Fiorito] to diss his own role, turning [it] into a con is particularly egregious. Here he is, taking these accolades while pocketing extra pay and getting overtime for court appearances, fooling everyone into thinking that [he’s] a heroic figure, when really [he’s] just a con artist."

In just about any other occupation, such a track record would have gotten Fiorito fired long ago, and criminally prosecuted. So why is the Town Hall District – allegedly the city's most "gay sensitive" – allowing Fiorito to retain his policing powers while the charges are investigated?


Read more at:
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/police.false.dui.2.975041.html

See also:
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/police.setup.lawsuit.2.944463.html
http://www.queerty.com/chicago-cop-hit-with-7-federal-lawsuits-over-gay-harassment-20090403/
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=20854
http://www.edgechicago.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc3=&id=89495


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