Cops without closets

>> An MUC police officer says being gay on the force is not a problem

by MATTHEW HAYS

Photo by Jason Felker

So it appears cops do read the Mirror after all. Patrick Lavallée did, anyway, and, after picking up last week's Divers/Cité issue, he felt he had to contact the Mirror to set the record straight.

Lavallée, an officer at downtown Station 38, says he was taken aback when he read the feature profile of an anonymous lesbian officer--referred to only as Ani--and the various horror stories she had of serving on the force.

"I don't want to depict everything as rosy," says Lavallée. "But there are two sides to every coin. I'm sorry to hear her experiences have been so bad, but this is the way I see them: I'm very happy to be serving openly as a gay cop."

Lavallée, who came out to his fellow officers and superior on the second day of his job, concedes he hasn't been serving and protecting that long (he just started his job four months ago). But he says he does know police culture extremely well, having served as a lawyer before becoming an officer, and having had a six-year relationship with another cop, André Proulx, who is also out on the job.

"I have attended every party, every function with him, for years," says Lavallée. "Everyone on the force knows we are gay and together and everyone has been very cool about it."

Lavallée, 33, is president of Association des Policiers et des Pompiers gais du Québec, an organization which has existed since the mid-'90s. While the group was not formed primarily as a support group, Lavallée says members will support one another if they're experiencing trouble on the force.

"I know of about 50 gay cops from across Quebec, from smaller municipal forces to members of the SQ or RCMP. Coming out as a police officer is probably as difficult as if you were a banker, because of the culture. But I've never seen homophobic attitudes against a police officer. There are jokes, of course, but there are jokes about blondes and Newfies too. I make jokes about gays because I have a sense of humour and don't take myself so seriously.

"Being a cop is tremendously stressful. I know if people are joking around, I know it's not a personal attack. We make jokes about everything."

As for Ani's claim that serving openly could mean a lack of backup on the part of her team during an intervention, Lavallée says he personally could never see that happening. "Police must work as a team. If someone were to do that, just because someone was gay, he wouldn't be able to be sure the gay cop would back him up in future interventions."

Lavallée also takes issue with Ani's statements about the double standards inherent in the policing of public sex in parks. "The fact is, gay men are more prone to go to a park and have sex than heterosexuals are. I am against entrapment, of course. But if people want to have sex, they should go to the saunas. If people are caught in the park, the penalty is not too bad. They get a fine of $130 and no criminal record."