A slew of bright yellow posters read "Fire and prosecute officer Fiorito" as people cheereda simple but powerful message that LGBT activists demonstrated at the Nov. 19 Chicago Police board meeting.
Approximately 20 people from the Gay Liberation Network ( GLN ) , including co-founder Andy Thayer, were present to speak as concerned citizens at the meeting, after they met outside to protest.
They are angry that alleged anti-gay Chicago police officer Richard Fiorito is still on the city payroll. Fiorito is being formally accused of falsifying DUI arrests by 37 people. While he was recently put on desk duty, they are calling for his termination and prosecution. Litigation has been ongoing in this case since March 2009.
A variety of members spoke against Fiorito. Some of the people who spoke had been arrested by Fiorito, and others spoke in solidarity.
"I'm from the suburbs. I'm white. I'm middle-class. I'm not gay. But when I was a teen I was assaulted by a police officer. It could have been any one of us who Fiorito attacked," said GLN member Robert Frasier. "Apparently, 37 people and video footage is not enough to remove him. What is enough? What will it take for the CPD to prosecute? Does he have to murder someone on camera?"
Thayer followed, saying, "It's about time that he be fired and that criminal charges be put against him."
Thayer offered a pile of evidence to the board superintendent, eventually tossing the pile of evidence to the floor when the superintendent did not rise to pick it up. He then demanded a comment from him. At risk of causing the meeting to come an end, Thayer stepped down. The crowd from GLN cheered, "Let him speak," as Thayer argued with the moderator.
"They're procedural, they hind behind procedure. That's why they didn't answer Andy. They're more interested in how we have in their room and not what officers do on the street," said GLN member Veronica Dranz after the meeting.
"It shows how stupid [ Fiorito ] is. Out of all the minority groups, this is the one he picks," said Douglas Derhodes, one of the people Fiorito arrested. "I'm not actually a member of the LGBT community. I was going out with friends and I was pulled over. Everything was falsified from there on. He was such a frickin' asshole."