Brian Paddick’s life is an open book. Literally.
The former London copper and current mayoral hopeful recently penned an autobiography, Line of Fire, in which he spills all of his beans. The book won’t be released until later this month, but Londoners have been getting sneak peeks, including a look into Paddick’s tumultuous coming out experience, like leaving his fiance and shacking up with an abusive boyfriend, James Renolleau:
On one occasion he stormed out after an argument and I ran after him, calling for him to come back.
When I caught up with him he wheeled round, floored me with a punch and started kicking me while I lay in the gutter.
All I could do was curl up in a ball and try to protect my head with my arms while I waited for him to stop.
Paddick stayed with the Frenchman for five years, from 1995 to 2000, when the officer finally left him. There’s really no punchline for that one, huh?
Darth Paul
Let that be a lesson to him. Don’t chase after people who storm off in a fight!
M Shane
I think that this is one of the most personally inspiring stories I’ve come across. He was a cop too. Mainly, I think, because people have always percieved me as being a “butch” person, I’ve just become aware that I’ve never been able to talk about the fact that my first four or five years were spent in a destructive abusive relationship, from which i suffered broken bones etc.-the other person was a black belt in Japanese Karate and was really temperamentasl. I’m not sure if I loved him or jusyt wanted to get rid of him. It took my almost killing him to protect myself that I just left my house and evertything to get away.
It was a really bad way to come out; I admire guys like this who are willing to put this sytuff in public, because males often don’t admit being abused. It happens I think a lot more than is admited.