WORCESTER— Pastor Thomas Crouse of Holland, who brought his controversial Mr. Heterosexual contest to Worcester, is suing the city for expenses surrounding a police detail he says he was forced to endure. The city claims it never charged Mr. Crouse for the detail.
The civil suit was filed in U.S. District Court.
Rev. Crouse, pastor of the Holland Congregational Church, claims his constitutional right to free speech was violated when he was billed for thousands of dollars for a detail outside Mechanics Hall during the Feb. 18 event.
Rev. Crouse preaches against homosexuality, calling it a sin and saying that people can be cured of it. Gay rights groups protested outside the hall during the event, contending it was inspired by hate.
The suit was filed by Harold Owen Beede, a lawyer with the Amesbury firm of Healey, Deshaies, Gagliardi & Woelfel and a member of the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, which focuses on religious rights.
The suit seeks reimbursement for damages and legal fees and requests an injunction against future fees should Rev. Crouse decide to hold other events in Worcester. It says the city’s fee policy is “unconstitutionally vague … and has a substantial chilling effect …”
It says the city’s decision to impose the fee for a police detail, “constitutes a content-and-viewpoint-based restriction unjustified by a compelling government interest.”
According to the suit, Mr. Crouse and Norma J. Sandison, Mechanics Hall executive director, met with Police Chief Gary J. Gemme to discuss a police detail for the event that would cost $6,000.
“At the meeting, the chief of police informed the plaintiff that the city was concerned about the anticipated turnout of protesters, and in light of this concern, the city planned to assign as many as twenty police officers (of various ranks) to the event,” the lawsuit states.
The city responded that it was Mechanics Hall that paid for 13 officers at a cost of $2,310.84 and that the city provided an unspecified number of additional officers at its own cost. The city also said its fee policy does not apply to police details for private venues such as Mechanics Hall.
Rev. Crouse announced his intention to sue in March. Police Chief Gary J. Gemme responded at the time that the suit was without merit and that Ms. Sandison was the one who suggested a police detail of 20 officers. He said Rev. Crouse had already agreed to a detail of 13 officers.
Ms. Sandison later told police to provide the detail they thought was appropriate, and that she would deduct the decrease in officers from Rev. Crouse’s bill. The chief said he staffed the number of officers that were initially agreed upon.
“We felt she was putting us in a no-win situation,” the chief said at the time, claiming Ms. Sandison wanted the increase in police officers because she knew Rev. Crouse couldn’t afford it.
Posted by: CJIS
And the problem is what exactly? I don't see what the fuss is all about. The pastor was told how much it would cost before hand. The city went out of its way to pay for the extra officers needed. The pastor needs to suck it up and pay on the agreed amount, or next time he holds such an event he will have no protection from protesters at all and have to pray his church will not be burned to the ground. (Unlikely scenario but you never know)
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