We’re getting preliminary reports about a possible anti-gay incident that occurred last night at the W Hotel in Dallas following the Lady Gaga concert at the American Airlines Center. Malcolm Gage, a prominent local gay businessman, alleges that an off-duty Dallas police officer working security denied his group access to the hotel when they tried to visit a friend who was staying there. Gage said he believes the officer had an issue with the hotel’s LGBT clients. Gage also said that this same officer choked Derrick Brown, chairman of the North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce. Both Gage and Brown are black. Here’s Gage’s full description:
UPDATE: Here is the response I received late Saturday morning from DPD Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse, a spokesman for the department:
“I do not show any calls for police out at the W Hotel last night other than officer Phelps documenting a minor disturbance in an elevator but no arrests made and all parties left. So, there is nothing to report on or comment on from this office unless the alleged victim(s) has filed an official complaint with internal affairs. Had he been choked I would hope he would have asked for a supervisor or called 911 but neither of those happened. Perhaps the W has documentation of what took place.”
Via Facebook, here is Brown’s description of the choking incident, which reportedly was separate from the encounter between the officer and Gage’s group:
“A group of us were walking to Ghostbar after the concert. The off duty officer claimed that I grabbed him (which I did not). When trying to tell him so, he grabbed my neck, pushed and pinned me against the wall by my neck telling me to shut up. Needless to say, I am outraged and will ensure action is taken to prevent it happening to someone else in our community.”
And this from Laura Martin, DPD’s LGBT liaison officer:
“I was notified of this complaint this morning from our public information office. I want all of you to know every excessive force complaint is taken seriously. My supervisors are aware of the complaint and are gathering the facts. I am already in contact with Mr Gage and Mr Brown. When the formal complaint is made with internal affairs, every witness will be interviewed. If anyone who witnessed the incident would like to contact me, please send an email to laura.martin@dpd.ci.dallas.tx.us.”
Can anyone say excessive force? Of course it wasn’t documented. I see Rainbow Lounge all over this!
I will be filing an official complaint with the department on Monday morning….
Excessive physical violence seems to have become SOP for these cops.
I am also gay, I have no relation to the W, DPD, or any of the folks involved. I also wasn’t present when this happened, but I’d just like to make the observation that a hotel or whomever a hotel has hired for security is well within it’s rights to require a key from people entering the property and to require visiting non-hotel guests to be escorted by paying guests. If someone in this group ignored a lawful command to comply with such a policy, the use of appropriate force would have been completely justified.
The officer was provoked by wannabe Dallas gays (“prominent Dallas businessman”? He works at a car dealership…). This crowd is known for feeling entitled for anything and everything. The W will not miss these $30K millionaires if they no longer visit. It’s one less place for them to act like douches.
Case in point. The DPD is nothing but a bunch of lawless bastards. It’s a qualification to be hired, it’s how they are trained and it’s how they are required to act in order to keep their jobs. It is without a doubt the most corrupt law enforcement agency on the planet. Fight Organized Crime–Abolish The DPD.
I am dumbfounded as to why my previous comment was removed. I guess the the Dallas Voice is interested in sensationalism and promotion of a specific agenda rather than truth or objectivity.
How do we even know it was gay related? My friends and I were once denied access to a bar in Victory Park. They said that they had “reached capacity”. We thought cool b/c it was extremely crowded in there and took him for his word. Right after that, some blonde bitch and her Polo-wearing friends went in. Maybe the snobby bitches over in the W were keeping out the “colored” people. You know we’re such troublemakers.
First let me address Dave’s comment, nobody ignored any commands from the security, we simply asked what was the reasoning behind it since we were the only ones stopped from going in. In Derrick’s case, he did nothing and excessive force was used against him. That was highly uncalled for..
Now Jay, I don’t know who you are, nor does it really matter at this point, however; I don’t really need to justify any of my history to you and what I have done in this community to help protect and provide more rights for people just like you. Apparently from your message you really don’t know me at all and frankly unless you know the entire story, your comments are unjust.
Nobody provoked the officer…
I’m not convinced that the complaining person’s behavior isn’t a major part of the problem. The problem seems to have nothing to do with his sexual orientation or race. They could but from the information given I can’t jump to any conclusion.
“There is obviously more to this story…” is the only credible statement in this blog until more facts are reported.
Most hotels, even small Hampton Inns, require a card key to enter after 10 PM for security reasons and not because of sexual orientation or race. I depend on hotel security to keep non-guests from entering late at night.
This is especially true if Lady GaGa or any celebrity is staying in the hotel.
I depend on hotel security to physically remove anyone that refuses to comply with safety policies regardless of their sexual orientation, race or self image. Providing security is one of the reasons many hotels charge higher prices.
@Little Monster…I totally agree…security and safety of any patron should always be top priority of any business. My issue is that these rules and policies apply to certain people and not to others. That is when it is discrimination. If you gonna enforce rules, enforce them all the time. The problems with some of these upscale places is that they start playing favorites and begin giving certain people special treatment. They like to call these people “regulars” but all it does is set up a scenario where someone feels like they are being discriminated against. I believe that is what happened last night.
A few questions come to mind: this happened last night, right? So, why wasn’t the police called or a complaint made right away? I suspect that the affected party was either way too intoxicated and/or high and couldn’t contact the police right away for that reason alone. More questions would then arise about alcohol blood levels, amount of drugs in the system, did they drive there drunk, etc… I would assume that with as much video surveillance in and out of the hotel that all parties might get a better view of what happened after watching the video. I would have a HUGE problem with this if the affected party actually lived there and were denied entry. However, it seems that they wanted access without obeying the hotel’s policies. I would also assume that the residents and hotel guests are thankful that the security guard was doing his job.
Who needs uninvited flagrants (and I say uninvited bc this would be a non-issue if a guest or resident invited them in after hours or had them on a list) being belligerent and intoxicated inside the property when they can’t even act with civility outside of it.
Uh oh, full deck of cards: race and gay… Let the “hate crimes” begin! He may be a smaller man that was allegedly choked, but I’m for sure the mouth on him could make up for it. Add on the fact that their credit cards were likely maxed out trying to live a life they can’t afford and I’m sure the stress level was too much to take. Oh, and if that’s what you describe as being a prominent Dallas businessman, this city is tanking all too quickly.
To the readers of the Dallas Voice, I am the Police Liaison Officer to the LGBT community for the Dallas Police Department. I was notified of this complaint this morning from our public information office. I want all of you to know every excessive force complaint is taken seriously. My supervisors are aware of the complaint and are gathering the facts. I am already in contact with Mr Gage and Mr Brown. When the formal complaint is made with internal affairs, every witness will be interviewed. If anyone who witnessed the incident would like to contact me, please send an email to laura.martin@dpd.ci.dallas.tx.us.
Thank you, Laura Martin. I want to read about the resolution most of all.
Yes, every witness will be interviewed. And the DPD will find some way to discredit their testimony and/or statements, and then the arrogant, egotistical, lawless bastard will be right back on the streets doing the same thing all over again. Let me be clear: the employees in the internal affairs division work for the DPD. They are paid to protect their own, whether the truth prevails or not. The lawless and arrogant DPD officers can do whatever they want to whomever they wish whenever they get ready and get away with it every time, integrity be damned. That’s how they are trained and that’s the way it’s going to be until someone steps up and decides to put an end to the corruption. Frankly, I don’t see that happening. Not now, not ever. The DPD is and shall remain the laughingstock of law enforcement worldwide.
James Simmons, I don’t know you and I don’t know your issue with the Dallas Police, but it’s obvious you have some personal conflict that has created an extremely distorted view of reality. In your world, ALL DPD officers are “lawless and arrogant” and ALL gays are victims. The large majority of Dallas officers are hard working, honest and fair… as are most of my gay brothers and sisters. I think in time we will discover that the truth (there’s probably video) but I doubt that will alter your paranoid view that the entire DPD is out to get us.
I guess the alleged actions by DPD could have been worse. Consider that the Fort Worth police have tasered a mentally ill person to death and severely injured a gay in a bar raid – while New Orleans cops shoot people in the back. I think police departments nationwide are allowing some really bad apples onto their forces. And what needs to happen in these situations is that the offending officers need to be tried and sentenced and taken off the streets. I guess you have to carry a cellphone around and video everywhere you go to protect yourself from those tasked to serve and protect.
There’s a lot of self-hate and gay-hate going around on this board.
Buck up Dallas gays! Get some balls!
This all seems very strange. I’m quite annoyed the way both parties seem to be extrapolating data that isn’t there. i.e. the assumed consumption of the patrons, or the corruption of the officers. There are a lot of variables here that have not been explained satisfactorily. I’m a gay guy from Dallas, and I’ve known to run into some pretty dirty SOBs on their force, but that doesn’t mean every officer is. Dallas is also notorious for self entitled 30k millionaires as well, but one cannot assume anything at this point. A couple of notes of interest to me is 1)were the patrons indeed intoxicated?2)What entrance were the attempting to enter? (many hotels require care for entry but I’ve never encountered one that requires one for access to the lobby)3)how did the officers and patrons address the conflict4)where there other avenues the patron/officer(s) could have taken? those are simply for the first incident. The choking incident is even more bizarre and has an even bigger absence of details. However when all is said and done DPD is considered quite corrupt, at least anecdotally (I don’t know how much they truly are, but whatever the case they have bad pr) so it’s not surprising that no call was filed. And in any case I feel that the onus is on the DPD as much as it is on concerned citizens to ask probing, thoughtful questions that help clarify what really occurred. As opposed to this nonsense of jumping to wild conclusions. I have innate bias like anybody else, but until I receive more information I will abstain from any definitive opinions. And I feel it behooves everyone to follow suit!
I’m confused, were they going to the W, or going to Ghostbar? Mr. Gage says they were going to visit friends at W, while Mr. Brown says they were going to the Ghostbar. The W and Ghostbar are two completely different businesses. I would hate to lay blame on one of these businesses when it wasn’t their fault/issue.
I hope once everything has been investigated, the truth will come out. I too wonder why this wasn’t taken care of by the victim on Friday night, today is Sunday???? If an off duty cop choked me and I did nothing to provoke him, you better believe I’m going to call 911 ASAP!!
So this alleged incident happened Friday night and the victim decided that the first thing to do on Saturday was to write to the Voice, play the gay card, and then press charges on Monday? Why? The Police department is open 24 hours. Is the “victim” seeking justice, or publicity?
James Simmons, Please! Your are acting hysterical. Grip a grip on your paranoia and extremism. It is diminishing your credibility.
I am neither paranoid nor extreme. I challenge you to disprove anything I said in my earlier comment. If you can, and if you can prove it, then I’ll admit I was wrong. However, I make statements based on fact, not emotion, hysteria, paranoia or extremism. So if you want to debate the facts, then do so. But (a) keep your opinions to yourself, (b) state the facts as you can substantiate and (c) have the balls and courage to use your real name instead of hiding behind some anonymous single-letter initial. (Oh, and by the way, the correct grammar is “You are acting hysterical”. “Your” is possessive case. Just stating a fact.)
The only ones that know the truth are the parties involved. But I must say that the contradiction between “friends” and ghostbar is pretty glaring. I am positive that security was asked to be extra diligent when it came to the Lady Gaga weekend. It is fair to say that the officer MAY have acted harshly and at the same time was doing his job. After an event like this, I sure would have appreciated security only allowing guests of the hotel in. In fact I went to W for an event and had no problem getting in the front door, BUT after the event we attempted to go up to the Ghostbar we were turned away from the elevator (for W guests only) and told to go outside to the outdoor entrance….there was no Lady Gaga. I think that we as a community should take a deep breath wait for the facts to come out and hold the officer responsible (if he is guilty) NOT the W Hotel. The W has done and is doing great things in support of our community, does anyone really think Lady Gaga would have visited this hotel if they didn’t have great policies and a reputation for LGBT inclusion? The W was crawling with us and this is the only incident (reported or not) that night. To this case I say yawn…..there is real discrimination out there, but this just isn’t a case of it.
Art, I think you nailed it (and Luke and Grace make valid points, too). I DO know this crowd. They are $30K millionaires. They act as though they’re entitled to a certain status, when they’re pocketbooks and bank accounts show otherwise.
I also wholeheartedly agree that they were too drunk (or otherwise impaired) since they found it so difficult to dial 3 simple numbers… 911. Of course, not calling the police or giving a statement until 3 days later definitely makes me think they were not interested in publishing/discovering the truth over an agenda.
I suppose that calling the police dept directly wouldn’t allow Mr. Gage the opportunity to call himself such an esteemed pillar of our community like it allows when calling a local rag. I can guaranty that the real prominent Dallas businessmen and women would love to know that the guy selling them their car is also spreading lies and causing trouble across town, all while branding the DPD as racists and bigots.
Meanwhile, I can’t wait to see the video of those idiots making fools of themselves at the W. There’s definitely a reason why the police weren’t called right away.
ok, how many of you have actually been to the W? Read the dang article – they were going to the Ghost Bar, which is on the top floor, and you have to enter the hotel to get there….duh…so stop talking about them being drunk or beligerant, or do you think people just go to hang out and not drink? seriously? and again, it shouldn’t be a matter of race, orientation, etc. it’s a matter that DPD used excessive force. And until we hear their side of the story, it’s ALL speculation….in every story, there are 3 sides, the “victim, the “aggressor” and the “TRUTH”!!
You know, I’ve kept fairly quiet while reading many of these comments, some supportive and some not. After browsing through both let me respond to a few I take serious issue with. First, neither party was intoxicated, high, or anything else. Sorry assumers, that’s not really my style. In addition, 911 was not called by Mr. Brown because he was attacked by the police, and frankly I think he was in shock. These were two separate events as he was not with my group when Officer Phelps was dealing with us. The issue with my group happened soon after Derrick had been physically attacked by the officer, which he later spent the remainder of the evening in distress trying to understand what had happened.
Second, my friend and I were cooperating with the door staff but trying to understand why we were being stopped for no apparent reason and others allowed, and this is into the lobby of the hotel. Once again, not drunk or belligerent. This officer was overly rude and used force to move me back for no reason and it was unjustified. We followed the rules of the hotel and called our friend, but the concierge who claimed to be the manager, then stated we still couldn’t come in. We did not call 911 because frankly it wasn’t an issue where we had been hurt or injured and our issue was with the blatant arrogance we got from the officer, and the W staff not trying to alleviate the problem. We calmly took the badge numbers of the officers, and I am taking care of my issue with DPD and the W directly.
Lastly, I did not contact the media, news, etc to sensationalize the story or get attention. I posted a note on my facebook and was contacted by them. The bigger issue is for Mr. Brown who was physically attacked and when I was contacted by additional media I asked that the story focus on him. Yes, the W brand is very supportive of the LGBT community, but the Dallas W has been notorious of having staff that does not support us. This is fact… Furthermore, I now understand why many people in our community don’t report issues because they are personally attacked when all we are trying to do is make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else. I have filed my report with DPD, and I am taking care of “my” issue that night. My group did not cause any civil unrest, issues, nor were we “out of control”. Furthermore, I really find it interesting how many of these anonymous parties know my financial history and what’s in my accounts.
I say this to say that regardless of what you seem to think is the issue, the facts in this case is that a member of our community was attacked for no reason, this person being the chairman of the north Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce, and I experienced a different issue with the same officer moments later. I have devoted a large portion of my life to working for this community to make sure we all are treated equally, but get attacked personally and called many untruthful things because we stand up to something that should not have happened. You assume someone was “high or intoxicated”, you assume that someone is a “$30k millionaire”, you assume you “know this group” and they are trying to be something their not. Lots of assumptions but I would only sink further to that level but trying to justify things that aren’t true in the first place. The truth is, we were trying to enjoy the concert and evening like anyone else and two separate incidents occurred that need to be addressed. Regardless of whether you agree with me or not, the issue should be investigated and ultimately a resolution will come about. Not all of the DPD is bad, however a few bad individuals can make the whole group look bad.
Frankly, we will move nowhere as a community until we decide to make sure we stand up for intolerance of any kind and not “hate” from within. If you don’t know the facts, and you don’t know the parties involved which from the caliber of these comments you don’t, then don’t make a comment, and if you do make sure it’s relevant. It’s really uncalled for and frankly is quite idiotic. I am in contact with the W and DPD regarding this issue and they have both acknowledged the issue, I will be happy to provide an update to any party interested.
^ actually, Mr Gage states that they were there to visit friends staying at the hotel. Read again.
Also, I assume this was after-hours, which means it’s absolutely necessary to either have a room key or your name on a guest list to enter after-hours. Mr Gage and his friends should have known this and respected the hotel’s policy.
Had they simply called their friends that were staying there, they would have been on the list or the hotel guests would have talked directly to the appropriate person to allow the friends inside to visit.
Instead, tempers flared because this group was not given privileged status and allowed inside immediately. Remember that we can all act a bit irrational on occasion when alcohol is involved, doing things we later regret. This scenario seems more likely since 911 wasn’t called right away. They knew that 1) they were not acting appropriately, 2) attempting to enter against the hotel’s policy, and/or 3) possibly even lying about “friends staying there” -especially when a simple phone call to those said friends would have allowed them to enter freely. Any other story smells fishy.
This all sounds like this guy is just trying to get some type of hype started in the Gay community. If you were choked for no reason by an officer, you would have called 911 ASAP. Give me a break.
Gage: consider me interested.
Amazed: “If you were choked for no reason by an officer, you would have called 911 ASAP. Give me a break.” Let me see if I understand you correctly. Someone gets choked by a police officer, so for help you’re going to call…the police?? Give ME a break. Jeez…that’s like saying “The sink’s overflowing. Turn on the water.”
That’s right, James Simmons – the first thing to do when you are allegedly assaulted by the police is to post it on Facebook. That will get results, right?
You accuse others of not stating facts, where are yours? Can you prove that the DPD “is without a doubt the most corrupt law enforcement agency on the planet.”? And remember, as you said, “(a) keep your opinions to yourself, (b) state the facts as you can substantiate”.
Malcolm Gage I really appreciate your calm responses on this message board. I always cringe at least a few times when reading message boards on gay website. The wolves come out and everyone thinks their justified to tear anyone down they chose. I dont know the facts so I can’t judge. Wouldn’t it be best to wait until an investigation is complete or at least half way complete to post a comment for or against Gage?
word on the street is that were hella wasted that night at the Gaga concert in box seats. They are hardcore partiers (think Lindsay Lohan) which is not my biz but they also put on this front that they are goody goody voices for the community. You can’t eat your cake and have it too, ladies!
D B Cooper: yes, I can. And if you do your own research, I submit that you would likely draw the same conclusions, provided you are educated and intelligent enough to know where to look and how to interpret your findings. However, if you would like to retain me to conduct the investigation for you, I would be happy to do so.
I wanted to refrain from commenting on any of this in this forum, as there are channels for the appropriate officials to take and the truth will come out, however I am enlightened and saddened by these posts. Neither gentleman was “partying” and neither gentleman was “intoxicated”… None of us are without faults but these guys were mistreated in seperate incidents moments from one another, and when they make a stance to speak up for being wronged, the community in which they’re members of, stand up for and contribute significantly to…beats them down with personal attacks…
Originally I was enraged over how they were treated (especially Mr. Brown), but I am saddened beyond compare to see these statements from the community that I am apart of, dedicate offensive amounts of resources too… Thank you for your honest feedback, the officer may have deliverd the physical attack, but you all deliver the most painful blow, I needed this reality check of who I am standing up for…
It was a gay thing, really? Do you really think the officer was able to keep all of the gays out that night or that he would even try? How did he know you were gay, were you wearing a rainbow flag? I doubt he simply denied you access and then reached out and began choking someone. Its funny how Dallas gays think after they’re told no by an officer, bouncer or any other authority they have the right to argue or demand otherwise. If an officer says no and you want to test him, maybe a choking you will get. Maybe a renewed respect for authority would help matters instead of the high & mighty fagitude many gay people have.
Newsome, no one has the right to choke someone, not even a police officer, regardless of the circumstances. I must admit, however, that you did an excellent job of convincing yourself that your version of the story, absent any other facts, is correct.
I’ve read the comments and the story sounds really over the top!!!!!!! Sounds like security was doing his job. I totally agree…if there was excessive force …this would have made Fox 4 News, Dallas Morning News…..police would have been there in a heart beat….sounds like only one side of the story is being told….if gay patrons were out….why would he get singled out….chances are….he did something wrong. If not…. as I said…it would have been on Fox 4 News….a police report would have been filed immediately….if friends were there to witness a choking and did nothing about (like notifying the police immediately…SOMETHING!!!!!.), SHAME ON THEM TOO!!!!! So, as I said in the beginning….the story is quite over the top!!!! I can almost guarantee you that he did something that provoked security to have to use a defense method…not pull out his gun….now thattttt makes sense.
I was at the Gaga concert on both Thursday and Friday nights. I made my way over to the after-party at the W on Thursday. The W was overcrowded and out of control with people trying to go to the after-party at the Ghost Bar. The security at the hotel had every right to ask for Mr. Gage and his crew to either produce a room key or be escorted by a hotel guest, especially if they were trying to jump the line for access to the hotel. Most hotels ask for room keys or identification to enter late at night. This is not new or specific to this hotel. Mr. Gage is not an activist for the gay community. Mr. Gage and his friends run around this city constantly acting unprofessional, immature, and just like a bunch of D-Bags. He claims to be a ‘leader of the gay community’ while most of us believe he is a car dealer that is trying to boost his resume and ego. I am ashamed and dissappointed that the Dallas Voice is pondering to his agenda. The concert was a fun drinking party atmosphere and I have no doubt that Mr. Gage was intoxicated and caused a scene just to cause a scene.
The W Hotel and its parent company are extremely gay friendly and I highly doubt this event ever occurred.
Lady Gaga put on a great show and encouraged all of those in attendance to walk away with their heads held high and to be proud of themselves and the gay community. I wish Mr. Gage and his posse had gotten this message rather than creating hoopla about something that most of us doubt ever occurred.
However, I do appreciate Laura Martin and the DPD for investigating this. I hope they are able to close this case and concentrate on the crime in Oak Lawn and the crimes against the LGBT community in Dallas rather than concentrating on this event.