May 30 Edmonton Police raided the […]

When

1981-05-30

Description

May 30 Edmonton Police raided the Pisces Health Spa, 10508 109th Street, and eventually charged six men with being keepers of a common bawdy house, and fifty-six men with being found-ins. The 2,000-name membership list of the club was also seized. A total of forty Edmonton police officers, six members of the RCMP, and two Crown Attorneys participated in the raid, which was also videotaped by the police. The accused were questioned under an obscure section of the Criminal Code (Section 183) during a specially arranged 5 a.m. courtroom session; the arrested men later claimed that they were not allowed to contact lawyers during this questioning. On June 4, 1981, an article in the Edmonton Journal revealed that the entire police operation had been instigated by a complaint from a gay man (later identified as Fred Griffis) who, although he had never visited the Pisces, thought the activities that occurred there were immoral and should be stopped. This complaint resulted in a three-month investigation that included surveillance of the premises and the photographing of people entering and leaving the Pisces. Police Chief Robert Lunney admitted that the Edmonton force had consulted with Toronto police for advice on planning and conducting the raid. Local gay groups Dignity, GATE Edmonton, and MCC were active in protesting the raid from the beginning, by distributing leaflets, attending meetings and protests, and by providing counselling and support for the men charged. The local gay community also established a Gay Heritage Fund and (on June 1, 1981) a Privacy Defense Committee to help cover the legal fees of the men charged; more than $18,000 was raised in the first three days. (See also June 3, 1981; June 4, 1981; June 8, 1981; June 10, 1981; July 1981; August 1, 1981; August 24, 1981; September–October 1981; and October 29, 1981.)

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