Evil Claims Pursued

Deborah Lashman

Two Vermont lesbians who are alleging
that they were violently arrested are pur-
suing civil claims against the police who
arrested them and the Howard Johnson’s
where the arrest occurred. Susan Aranoff,
an attorney and Georgina (Dinny) Forbes,
and artist and psychotherapist, were ar-
rested on Saturday, December 28, 1991, in
White River Junction and charged with un-
lawful trespass. No criminal charges were
filed against them and the State’s Attorney
has stated that she will not be filing any
such charges in the future.

Forbes and Aranoff claim the arrest violat-
ed their civil rights in that it was unlawful
and the police used excessive force. The
women allege that one of them was
knocked on to a table and then to the floor
where she was straddled by officers and
handcuffed, and that the other received nu-
merous bruises from the undue roughness.

Both women are lesbians and think that en-
tire incident was precipitated by the sexism
and homophobia of a Howard Johnson’s
employee who refused to admit a 39 year
old lesbian who was in their party into a
lounge where alcohol was being served be-
cause she lacked legal identification. Al-
though Forbes and Aranoff possessed and
displayed identification and were in no
way trespassing, the police refused to listen
to them and instead forcibly removed them

from the lounge and charged them with
trespassing. The pair have retained a legal
team headed by attorney Charles DiMare, a
nationally recognized expert in the field of
police misconduct and constitutional law.

Forbes and Aranoff both feel strongly that
the police must be held accountable for the
alleged harassment and use of force and vi-
olence. Aianoff, who is an attorney, also
feels that, “The assaults I suffered wouded
my ability to heartily believe in the pos-
sibility of obtaining justice in our system of
law. In seeking redress of my injuries witlr—
in the legal system, I am seeking a restora-
tion of my faith in the system...By pursuing
my charges, I hope to establish for myself
and the community that my right to go out
dancing and be free front police brutality is
the same as any other citizen’s.”

Many of Forbe’s clients are women dealing
with issues of violation and abuse. For her,
pursuing the claim is essential for her cli-
ents as well as herself. “I hope that through
use of the legal system these wrongs can be
righted and an act of victimization trans-
formed into a model of empowerment for
other women.”

The Chief of Police for the Town of Hart-
ford has refused to comment on the case
beyond stating that the officers did nothing
wrong. V

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Goslant Assists
with Police Training

For the past four years Keith Goslant has
been an adjunct instructor at theVerrnont
Police Academy. All Vermont police of-
ficers, local and state, are required to at-
tend training at the Academy. Goslant,
along with a lesbian co-presenter, pro-
vides officers with a two hour intro-
duction to Verrnont’s lesbian, gay, and
bisexual community. Issues covered in-
clude what the gay community is, its
perception of law enforcement, the re-
ality members confront in their daily
lives, some historical background, and a
discussion of hate—motivated crimes. In
the four years since the course started,
Goslant has noted a definite change in
the attitudes of attendees and the general
atmosphere at the Academy. Officers ask
about the course and engage in active
discussion during the sessions. Currently
Goslant is working with Academy staff
to put together a comprehensive package
on enforcement of the hate crimes law. V

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July/August 1992

  

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