P-Town city officials play cat and mouse

Provincetown’s Summer of Hate? :: PPD Under Fire

On the surface, Provincetown is a gay Disneyland. Same-sex couples walk hand-in-hand up and down Commercial Street. Rainbow flags litter the main drag and accentuate the town’s pristine views and breathtaking landscapes. Businesses kindly promote and accept the patronage of thousands of out-of-town GLBT visitors.

But dig beneath the gay-friendly façade and there seems to be a systematic problem with the town’s Police Department relevant to anti-gay attacks in the popular resort destination.

"The tactic among some in Provincetown close to acting chief Warren Tobias appears to be defaming critics in an effort to silence concerns about the professionalism of the PPD," Gorton argues. "It’s the townie bunker mentality that resents outside agitators."

Earlier this month, the town’s civil rights officer determined that Souza’s anti-gay tirade is protected as a freedom of expression and will be classified as a "hate incident" and not a "hate crime." Lopes reports that the perpetrator is, in essence, not at fault because his words and actions were not directed at a specific individual.

In a related note, Provincetown leaders announced on Monday, Oct. 22 they plan to spend at least $26,000 to find a replacement for acting chief Sgt. Warren Tobias who assumed the leadership role when Chief Schuyler "Ted" Meyer resigned in January.

According to reports, the Provincetown police union plans to legally challenge the selectmen’s methods for choosing a new police chief, saying that town manager Sharon Lynn and two other town officials have failed to include the union in the decision.

Provincetown police chief admits irregularities

Provincetown Acting Police Chief Warren Tobias told Bay Windows Sept. 25 that police officers failed to include pertinent information in their report detailing the investigation into the Sept. 10 assault on Richard Hall, a New Bedford man who was vacationing in Provincetown. Hall alleges that the assault was an anti-gay hate crime, and he has publicly accused Provincetown police of mishandling the case.

Tobias said the fact that the assailants did not steal Hall’s money may indicate that the attack was a hate crime, but he said investigators are not ruling out other possibilities.

According to Officer Joudrey’s report, two men called police to report the assault. The report does not give any information about who the two men were, nor does it indicate whether they were questioned by officers at the scene. It states that officers left Hall in their company, at Hall’s request, but Hall says he has no memory of the men.