Police chief
criticized for investigating gay bashing

Rochester, N.Y., police union leader Ron Evangelista has publicly criticized police chief David Moore for requesting an internal investigation into an alleged June 1 gay bashing, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported Thursday.

"Let's have a vote of confidence on Chief Moore," Evangelista said at a press conference, reports the paper.

Moore ordered the investigation after the victims of a local gay-bashing incident claimed that police who responded used gay slurs against them. In the ensuing confrontation, three of the complainants were arrested, while the original suspects were let go.

Evangelista expressed his distaste for internal investigations that "[step] on the hard work of our criminal investigators," reports the Democrat and Chronicle. He added that any investigation could skew findings from the original crime.

Evangelista accused Moore of disregarding the rights of the police officers. "In this world we live in, the cops aren't the problem," he said. "It's the people with guns and drugs that are the problem. You can't chastise them [the police] for their discretions." (The Advocate)