Florida Republican representative and John McCain campaigner Bob Allen claims that he wasn’t trolling for sex at Space View Park, but the arresting officer’s police report suggest otherwise.
PageOneQ obtained a copy of that report, which we’ve transcribed – grammatical errors and all – after the jump…
On 11 July 2007 at approximately 1533 hours I was conducting a plain clothes investigation in the area of 10 Broad Street (Space View Park). I observed a while male driving a silver 4-door Toyota pull into the driveway which is a roundabout twice within a matter of moments.
I recall this because I was conducting a surveillance in attempt to capture a burglar in a nearby condominium and I was concerned about counter-surveillance.
I walked out of the park ad when I returned I observed that the while male, later identified as Robert Allen, had parked his car on the side of Broad Street and had entered the park on foot. As I walked back to the park I observed Allen walk into the the men’s restroom. I sat down next to two other plain clothes officers in the park. I then observed Allen leave the restroom and walk toward a park bench. I then entered the bathroom to adjust my police radio. On my way out of the restroom I almost bumped into Allen who was on his way into the restroom again. Allen change his course of direction when he saw that I was leaving the restroom and [went] back towards his park bench. I talked with the other officers again and then entered the bathroom and began washing my hands. Allen entered the bathroom behind me and proceeded into the first stall.
I realized that there were no paper towels to dry my hands so I walked in to the handicap stall to dry my hands. As I stood in the stall drying my hands I observed Allen look over the door of my stall and make eye contact with me. Allen then stepped away and then came back to the door and looked in, making eye contact with me again. I said “hey buddy” and Allen said “hi” and then stepped away again. About 5 seconds later Allen pushed open the door to my stall and stepped inside. I was standing against the far wall of the stall. Allen closed the door behind him and stood against it. I said “What’s up” and Allen again said “hi”.
Allen then said “this is kind of a public place isn’t it.” I said, “Do you have somewhere else we can go”. Allen said, “How about across the bridge, it’s quite [sic] over there”. Allen engaged me in conversation in which it was agreed that he would pay me $20.00 in order to perform a “blow job” on me. Allen stated that he wanted to ride with him across the river before he performed the act and gave me the money. Before entering Allen’s vehicle I identified myself as a police officer and detained him.
Sounds pretty clear cut to us. We can’t wait to hear what Allen’s lawyers have to say.
David in KC
Let’s all take a moment today and send 20 bucks to the democrat of your choosing!
BillieXX
A married man looking for a blow-job?!?!??! Yawn!
peace
nycstudman
This story is the gift that keeps on giving.
Jack Jett
Wow, this story almost caused me to reach for my bottle of Rush…….then I looked at the dude again.
Hot story.
Thanks Queerty…
Jack Jett
stevo
Isn’t this a case of police entrapment?
Granted I do not like Bob Allen, but the way he was found out sounds fishy to me.
This could just as easily have happened to a nice, married, democrat. Would we be so titillated by it then – or would we be slamming the cop?
Mr. B
Stevo–unfortunately, I believe it is not entrapment for a police office to pretend to accept a proposition. I’m not sure about a police officer propositioning someone else, although he’s legally allowed to go into a “viewing booth” at an adult bookstore or something as long as his own penis doesn’t make an appearance. I read this in some article about cruising, although I don’t do public sex myself because I’m too paranoid about beatings and diseases and cops. Somehow I assume the internet will protect me from these things. Snort.
underbear1
Could Bob be anymore UNf*ckable?
nycstudman
stevo, I’m against police entrapment, but the dude was going in and out of the bathroom, gonig into the stall and HE propositioned the cop, when the cop was simply trying to figure out what was going on. Entrapment would have been if the cop came up, say, at a urinal beside him, whipped it out, make a lewd comment, etc. Nothing like that happened here. If anything, I feel sorry for the cop, because now Allen’s gunning for him.
queertext
whatever. by the cop’s own admission he said “hey buddy,” and “what’s up” and sent back all the signals you’re supposed to send if you are cruising. Allen’s a fuck for being anti-gay when he’s really looking for cock to suck, but this system of policing and criminalizing gay sex is even worse…
and nycstudman: get a life. You feel sorry for a cop who participated in entraping a cruiser? I feel sorry for you.
kamasutrajones
nycstudman, i rarely do, but in this case i totally agree with you.
queertext, what “system of policing and criminalizing gay sex?” you mean enforcing the laws already in place that make gay sex in a public place illegal? should we allow heteros the same option?
it just drives me nuts that so many gay men feel they have the right to have sex whenever and wherever they want. having sex in public is lewd and lascivious and is punishable by law, as it should be.
nycstudman
queertext, the cop was IN A STALL when Allen looked over the stall and then walked in. What kind of entrapment is it when the cop is drying his fucking hands in a handicapped stall and some guy looks over the divider at him and then walks in? If anyplace is a private space, it’s a bathroom stall. I look at that the same way that an off-duty policeman is sitting in his apartment and some guy walks in because he left the door unlocked and asks he can pay him for sex and he arrests him. I feel sorry for YOU if you can never ever see the policeman’s point of view under any circumstances, ever.
Woof
I’d take the $20 and the head.
queertext
did the cop say, “i’m not interested” or move away from Allen or do anything to indicate that he wasn’t interested?
that’s the problem here: he should have said, i’m not interested and i bet Allen would have walked away. instead he TRICKED him into breaking the law. but again, i reiterate: Allen deserves this public humiliation because of his politics. most gay men or men looking for sex with other men do not deserve this public humiliation.
mulletkitty
Keep in mind this police report is not a third party observation of events, but a carefully-crafted, after-the-fact account whose rhetorical purpose is to justify the officer’s conduct, serve as evidence, and carefully shield the officer from charges of entrapment. By the time the officer recorded his report, he was aware he had arrested a politician, and that his report would be under a lot of scrutiny. So while I welcome the chance to see Allen’s anti-gay, anti-public-lewdness hypocrisy exposed, I also share the above skepticism of the report, and caution against reading it as a transparent account of “what happened.” Two small points: Why is the officer leaving the privacy of his car to go into a restroom to adjust his radio (why not just adjust it in his car?). If the only thing he does in the restroom is adjust his radio, why is he making a big production out of washing and drying his hands? (is his radio *that* filthy?) Sounds to me like he knows what to say and what not to say to avoid entrapment…
mamcwifey
this looks like he just got busted by the dateline crew!!
nycstudman
Mulletkitty: hmm. good point about the radio. So let’s say that, yes, he observed what he thought might be a gay man in the act of cruising tea room (let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that, yes, he was suspicious about the doublerun in the turnaround because of a buglar in the area, assuming that police can point to such activity). Even so, Allen still solicited him – if he’s telling the truth about what happened after that; even if he did go in on pretense of “washing hands” to entrap allen, Allen willingly and without encouragement rose to the bait. If he’s telling the truth. Presumably, if the other officers on the bench saw what was going on, they’d be credible witnesses. I’d say Allen’s screwed.
kamasutrajones
We’re still not addressing the issue that what Allen wanted to do was illegal, no matter what. Plus, the officer says he was in plain clothes on a buglarly stakeout. Therefore, he was wearing “a wire” not a full on radio that you would see on a cop walking his beat. Maybe he needed to adjust the wires or the mic pack (which was maybe in his drawers). And why would it change things if he were to say he wasn’t interested. The fact is that Allen solicited the officer for sex, which falls under lewd behavior in a public place. It’s fairly cut and dry here folks.
Matt
Right, kamasutrajones. The test for “entrapment” is, was the defendant moved to act in a way he would normally not have acted, due to the actions of the police? So yeah, if the cop had waved his willy at Allen, who was already observed cruising the restroom, that might have been a different story. But other than acknowleging the existence of someone peering over the top of the toilet stall, it would appear the cop was pretty passive until it was obvious what Allen was after–after which it was perfectly legal for the cop to “play along.” Is it sad that we live in a country so fucked up that gay men trap themselves in straight marriages and closets and fundy roles and have to sneak around to feed their hearts’ desires? Yeah it is. Does that make it legal to cruise toilets for blowjobs? Nope.
nycstudman
I think even George Michaels has admitted that what he did was naughty 🙂
Gregg
This guy is a pig and I’m glad his hypocrisy has been revealed. But I still think cruising and even paying for sex should be legal. There was no indecent exposure here. (and looking at
Allen, let’s be grateful for that!)
mikeoutwest
What’s also especially weird is that Allen offered the guy $20 at all. It’s a little vague when the officer said that “Allen engaged me in a conversation” but everything up until then makes it seem like these were just two guys in a bathroom looking to go somewhere and hook up. Except one of them had a radio. And obviously spent a long time drying his hands in a handicapped stall. After talking to his officer buddies outside. Ok, there’s a lot weird here…
mulletkitty
Let’s hope the offier WAS wearing a wire and the whole thing is on tape!
Oh, I love how Allen’s lawyer said that Allen “does not dispute the undercover officer’s account of events” (not an exact quote but close), but claims a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding? – maybe he was trying to “buy $20 bucks of blow and snort it under the bridge together..” but mumbled a bit to much?? Can’t wait to see how he spins this! If Florida keeps losing it’s closeted Republicans, we just might be a blue state! Adios, Allen!
GoodBuddy
You can see the “perp walk” on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RvumnSEd4s
queertext
dear kamasutrajones, you write “We’re still not addressing the issue that what Allen wanted to do was illegal, no matter what.” so? it’s a bad law that is enforced to target gay men. just because something is “illegal” doesn’t mean it should be: do you own more than five sex toys? illegal in texas. hell, sodomy was illegal in texas and many other states until the Lawrence decision..did you stop getting your ass fucked or fucking ass just because it was “illegal”?
Matt
Oh, I dunno, queertext, I’m not sure the “Unjust Law” card necessarily plays well here. There’s a bright-line difference between bad laws that govern behavior in private (sodomy, sex toys, sex for cash, etc) and laws against blow jobs in public toilets and under bridges. I really don’t want to be seein’ the straight folks fucking away under the overpass either, and the same law that nabbed Allen here would nab them too. I just don’t see any high-horse for Allen to sit on here.
queertext
have you ever heard of cops coercing men to have sex with them in a park and then arresting them? i don’t mean pretending to be sex workers and doing it, i mean, offering men free, consensual and mutual sex in a park or at a beach and then arresting them? I don’t think so…whether or not you think public sex is OK, you should be able to see how this type of behavior unfairly targets and CRIMINALIZES gay men
queertext
(naturally, above i mean female cops and (straight) men, not male cops and men.)
nycstudman
queertext: female cops go undercover all the time as streetwalkers to catch johns.
Mr. B
Queertext: 1) The cop didn’t approach Allen and proposition him, nor did he do anything illegal (like expose his penis, etc.). That would be entrapment–MAKING somebody do something illegal. If the person is already trying to do something illegal–buy drugs, buy sex, have public sex–it is NOT entrapment for an undercover cop to pretend to go along with it. That’s what “undercover” is all about–you need proof to arrest someone. 2) It’s not a cop’s job to protect a cruiser, I’m sorry to say. Allen was going around looking for sex, and from the sound of it he wasn’t being very discreet (If a guy ever looked into my stall I’d pop him, I’m sorry.) The cop didn’t pressure him, didn’t force anything on him, didn’t do anything but follow a lead. And Bob Allen is a grown man of full mental capacity who made the decision to go to a park looking for dick, and he made the decision to follow that guy around.
I know what you’re saying about the cop making eye contact with him and not deterring him, but if you’re going to cruise, you really should know the risks. This isn’t the ’50s–it’s not like there aren’t plenty of places beside the bathroom for men to go have sex.
nycstudman
“If a guy ever looked into my stall I’d pop him, I’m sorry.”
THANK YOU. If there ever was a private place, it’s a shithole. Whatever you say about entrapment, pubilc sex, soliciting & the law, this is one place where I don’t want anyone sticking his nose in, I don’t care if I’m washing my hands or ..
Mr. B
Oh, and also, Queertext–I’m not so sure it’s fair to say gay men are unjustly targeted because, while it’s true that female cops pose as prostitutes to catch straight johns all the time, the majority of people who cruise public places for sex are men looking for men. Cruising culture is overwhelmingly a gay (male)phenomenon. And anyway, people looking to hook up in bathrooms? A lot easier if you’re looking for someone else of your own gender. 🙂
Studman–right on. There are certain rules about restroom etiquette that get engrained in you when you’re, oh, four. If you break that sanctity it’s just not cool.
Mr. B
Edited to specify, streetwalkers and cruising are not the same thing, and the majority of people who seek free anonymous sex in public places are m4m.
stevo
Interesting discussion about entrapment. Thanks everyone for throwing in your two cents!
For the record, here is Wikipedia’s entry on Entrapment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrapment
It seems like Allen was clearly bent on criminal activity (i.e. paying for sex/public sex), so if the cop’s version is correst, I guess it wasn’t entrapment.
We have a lot of laws about sex don’t we!! I have learned something today.
kamasutrajones
queertext, first off, what i do in the privacy of my own home is my own business. i’m certainly not going to tell you or anyone else WHAT i do with my ass. a law preventing one from owning more than five sex toys in texas is a bad one, yes. it should be overturned. there are many laws like this, i’m sure. however, the difference here is that what allen sought out was NOT in the privacy of his own home. it was in public. and even if he did seek out some sex at home with a male companion, PAYING FOR SEX is illegal in most states. i don’t see how laws against public sex target and crimininalize gay men. there are plenty of other places for gay men to have sex. public parks, bathrooms, etc. should not be one of those places. why? because it’s a matter of common decency. yes, i said it. as mr. b says about toilet etiquette, there are still some lines that should not be crossed. but, sadly, like manners any sense of common decency in this country has gone down the toilet.
Gregg
queertext is right about straight people not being targeted by these laws. All you posters who diverted his example to prostitution are missing the point. queertext specifically said “free”. Therefore – NOT prostitution.
Damn there are a bunch of prudes on this site.
I’m not at all into bathroom sex myself. (I tried it once in a leather bar. Not my cup o tea – no pun intended) But this kind of police behavior goes on all the time to bust gay men. Never straight men.
I have never heard of a straight couple having consensual sex in public (which happens all the time thank you very much) and being arrested for it. More likely, the officer smirks and tells them to get a room.
Stenar
I think cruising for sex in public should be illegal. I hate the feeling that whenever I have to go to the bathroom in a park, there might be some perv in there trying to have sex with me. Why do some gay men think they can and should have sex wherever they feel like? If our society were more accepting of homosexuality, gay men wouldn’t feel the need to sneak around in parks and other public places behind their wives’ backs. They could meet in other appropriate ways and go home to have sex and not do it in public.
stageman59
To send an email to this hypocrite, go to: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/
Representatives/representatives.aspx
ProfessorVP
Of course, some will come to Allen’s “defense” and say he’s not really gay, offer some ancient, hoary psycho-babble and conclude that straight men often do this sort of thing. This type of post is inevitable.