by Rex Wockner
Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit against Johnson City, Tenn., Sept. 30 on behalf of Kenneth Giles, whose photo was released to the media after he was arrested in a sting operation targeting men who have sex with each other in public environments.
Photos of 39 other men arrested in the crackdown also were released.
"In America, the police do not get to add an extra punishment to people they don't like," said Lambda's Greg Nevins. "They also do not get to ignore the principle of innocent until proven guilty. The JCPD went out of its way to humiliate Mr. Giles and caused irreparable damage."
On Oct. 1, 2007, the police department issued a press release, personally approved by the police chief, that included photos of the men at the scene of their arrests. Local news gave the story and photos big play, and revealed the men's addresses.
Lambda later reviewed more than a year's worth of the police department's press releases and found that out of some 600 releases, none concerning arrests was accompanied by photos – nor personally approved by the chief.
One of the 40 men later committed suicide and several were fired, including Giles, who was a nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital.
Lambda Legal claims the police department violated federal equal-protection law in singling the men out for harsher treatment by making their images available to the media.
