March 6 Hamilton, Ont. OPP constable […]

Graph

When

1978-03-06

Description

March 6 Hamilton, Ont. OPP constable Paul Head, twenty-eight, was arrested outside the Windsor Hotel (31 John St. North), a gay gathering place, and was taken to Burlington, Ontario, where he was charged with gross indecency and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile (for having sexual relations with a thirteen-year-old boy). OPP intelligence branch officers had been investigating Head's personal life after he had been spotted hanging out at gay bars. Head was immediately suspended from the OPP, and within hours had typed up a letter of resignation. Two days after submitting the letter of resignation Head withdrew it, saying that he had been forced into making it. The OPP said that the resignation had already been accepted and could not be withdrawn, and Head decided to go to court to fight for his reinstatement. Head was held in jail for two weeks before bail was posted. The charge of gross indecency against Head was eventually dropped, but he did plead guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, a lesser charge, and was given a suspended sentence and one year's probation. The case for Head's reinstatement to the OPP, however, dragged on for years, all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. (See also March 21, 1980; March 31, 1980; April 29, 1980; May 20, 1980; June 12, 1980; October 22, 1980; April 10, 1981; October 14, 1981; and December 9, 1981.)

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Burlington Windsor Hotel Hamilton

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Paul Head

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Supreme Court of Canada Ontario Provincial Police

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Paul Trollope, "Gay Cop Bumped from the OPP Fights Court Battle to Get Job Back," Body Politic, no. 63 (1980), p. 9."The Machinery of Oppression" (editorial), Body Politic, no. 63 (1980), p. 8 Gerald Hannon, "The One in the Jeans and Adidas: The Night Paul Head Discovered the Force Wasn't With Him," Body Politic, no. 63 (1980), pp. 9–10 "Ex-OPP Officer Quit in Captive Situation, Lawyer Tells Court," Globe and Mail, April 30, 1985, p. M2

Graph Legend

Paul Head

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