For Philly Cops, a Trip Down Memory LaneTommi Avicolli-Meccabyline‚ May. 09‚ 2008I’m no fan of the Philadelphia Police Department. I grew up in the working-class streets of South Philadelphia. As a kid, I got stopped by patrol cars on my way home late at night because I looked like someone who had done something wrong. Meaning that I looked Italian. We didn’t call it profiling in those days. When I came out of the closet, police officers used to raid gay bars (if they didn’t fork over their payoffs on time) and harass queer men walking down the gayest street in town. Believe it or not, they could arrest us if it was after a certain hour and we were in groups of three or more. The first time I was caught at a raid at a popular gay night spot, I made it out of the kitchen door and over a fence. I was underage and had a fake ID. |