More than 10 years after the city of Los Angeles agreed to end discrimination against gays and lesbians in the LAPD, the department can be a hostile, even frightening place for homosexual officers.
"Most gay officers are still in the closet," said retired Sgt. Mitch Grobeson, 45, who won a court settlement in 1993 requiring the city to provide gay and lesbian officers a discrimination-free workplace. "Those who are openly gay are working in an environment filled with fear."
The Grobeson settlement mandated recruiting in the gay community and expanding instruction to include topics related to sexual orientation. It said discrimination investigations must be handled with discretion and sensitivity. And it banned disqualifying applicants for promotion because of sexual orientation.
Despite the settlement, 16 homosexual officers, including five who had resigned or retired, said in interviews with The Times that being openly gay slows promotions, makes discipline more likely and jeopardizes careers. Openly gay officers, they said, are not welcome in the vice, juvenile, metro, SWAT, organized crime or anti-terrorism units.
Throughout the department, they said, lesbians are more accepted than gay men. The gay officers cited specific incidents of discrimination, including slurs, harassment and rejection for better assignments.
Some officers said only a few colleagues, including immediate supervisors, knew they were gay. Most requested anonymity, fearing more discrimination, including retaliation, if they complained publicly.
Among the gay officers who consented to be named were:
* Alan Weiner, 45, a training officer in the Van Nuys Division. He was accused of making inappropriate remarks about sodomy and searching crotches for guns. At an administrative disciplinary Board of Rights hearing, Weiner was found not guilty. But by then he had been transferred, demoted and had his pay cut. He was charged again, this time with failing to follow directions. He was acquitted a second time, but his rank and pay were not restored until after he went to court.
* Sgt. Robert Duncan, 42, a Medal of Valor winner at headquarters. His homosexuality was revealed by an ex-lover who accused him of harassment. Duncan was put under surveillance, then accused of unexplained absences. He was relieved of duty. Ultimately, a Board of Rights found that his only transgression had been leaving work early one afternoon and getting a full day's pay. He was suspended for five days, then told his former job no longer existed.
