Yesterday’s news about the decision in the Dean Gaymon case has prompted reactions from many doubters, questioning the truth behind the story presented by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Upon hearing the announcement that the grand jury declined to bring any charges against Officer Edward Esposito, the Chairman of the Garden State Equality (GSE), Steven Goldstein, immediately called for a federal civil rights investigation, in accordance with the law. He vowed that his organization would work with Essex County authorities to preserve the quality of life in the parks without relying on undercover patrols, since he feels that system is ineffective and puts civil rights at risk.
In Gay City News, Duncan Osborne explained that GSE has documents obtained under the state’s open records law that indicate a history of undercover public sex stings in Essex County parks, including Branch Brook Park. According to yesterday’s article,, the records indicate that Esposito was involved in at least 19 public sex sting arrests in Essex County parks. Last January, Osborne told Baristanet that the records suggest that Esposito was involved in at least three other public sex arrests in 2009, all of which turned violent.
A Baristanet commenter had this to say about yesterday’s announcement:
The cover up continues. And as usual, the prosecution uses the Grand Jury as a weapon to advance the prosecution interests — and in this case, the prosecution interest was to protect someone on their side, a police officer — and in doing so send a message to all police officers.
The grand jury gets to hear ONLY what the prosecution wants them to hear. The other side of the story is not presented to the Grand Jury…
Nearly a year later, this story has finally been made to seem clean and straight forward. In the weeks following the shooting, the authorities just kept changing the story again and again whenever the impossible-to-believe holes in it were pointed out. Whatever the truth of this shooting — whether Gaymon attacked or not — the authorities’ constantly changing the story screams of coverup.
NYC Mayor Ed Koch, who has drawn parallels between the Gaymon case and the Stonewall Riots of 1969, told Baristanet that “Gaymon’s spirit is surely crying out for justice.”
What do you think? Do you believe Esposito’s story or do you have doubts?
No specific opinion but has any of Gaymon’s family thought to bring a civil suit? This case couldn’t be as much of a judicial travesty as the OJ Simpson debacle was and the civil case in that matter favored the plaintiffs. Somehow, all the evidence needs to get into the daylight.
I can’t give you a concrete reason why, but I had a bad feeling about this when it happened last year, and I still do…I wouldn’t object to further investigation.
I, too, have a bad feeling about it and each time they change their story, the bad feeling solidifies.
And it’s very sad because, regardless of what Mr. Gaymon may have been doing in the park, he didn’t deserve to die.
First thing any cop will tell you is when someone’s story changes they are lying.
I hope Mr. Gaymon is resting in peace.
Agreed, Nellie. The “punishment” did not fit the crime. He never got to have his day in court to tell his side of the story and that’s what makes this tragic. All we are hearing is one side and that side keeps changing the story.
Per this article on nj.com a civil suit has been filed.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/cell_phone_call_reveals_office.html
Terrible situation, and just horrible for his wife, family, and friends. I was not there obviously, nor was anyone else posting on this board. I can imagine a bunch of scenarios. I don’t think scarce public resources should go towards undercover activities in park bushes. Nor can I justify men using a public park as a place to have sexual relations. When gay rights activists try to normalize sex in a public park as a perfectly reasonable place for people to hook up and have sex I vehemently disagree. That’s what hotels, motels, and other non-public places are meant for. Cops, some of them, can be real jerks, and I have no problem imagining a cop handling this really badly. Nor do I have much difficulty imagining a scenario where a closeted guy, off for a fling, overreacts and threatens violence faced with the threat of having his secret life exposed. The fact that he was shot does not mean to me automatically that the cop is at fault here. If I stagger out of a local bar in town and lunge at a cop’s weapon I am going to be shot. 100% of the time. This was a really unfortunate scene. maybe the civil suit will shine more light on it. Though Mr. Gaymon’s side of the story will never been known.
A terrible, irremediable tragedy: but why is no one speaking the word “homophobia?”