Good Cop, Bad Police Dept
We read recently that Michael Verdugo, the former police officer & contestant on the 2008 HGTV's Design Star from 2008 has filed a wrongful termination & discrimination lawsuit. If you recall a video surfaced from his VERY brief career in gay porn and though he had done the video 12 years it became an issue, albeit a bogus one. Though Verdugo came in fourth place in the HGTV show he was not invited to the show reunion. Plus, he was placed on "administrative leave" from the Hollywood, Florida police pending an investigation.
As it turned out he was dismissed in January 2009. The department stated that his withholding his porn past was the issue, not the fact that he had done the video. It was his lack of honesty, not his sexuality. Uh-huh. As Verdugo himself has stated, it's unlikely that the police would have fired him if it had been a straight porn.
Michael Verdugo is now suing not just for the reasons listed above but also because he wants to be back on the force. Interestingly he seems to be expressing little regret over his brief stint as seen in Rope Rituals from Tom McGurk. Plus it seems that he's got growing support for his cause. His brother is gay activist Chris Verdugo and the word is spreading in the press.
When this story first broke it was viewed as a scandal. And you know what? It still should be viewed as one--except it lies with the Florida police dept. It IS a scandal that a good officer who spent nearly ten years on the force is being discriminated against because of his sexuality. They can deny it all they want but we all know what the truth is. It's not unlike the hearings going on now to repeal DADT. Those who are against the repeal, even though the top brass are for it, are nothing more than bigots. Eh, John McCain?We wish Mike Verdugo well in his quest to seek justice for himself.
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