A Gay Gatesgate: Pepin Tuma Speaks
Last month, we wrote about the questionable arrest of a gay Washington lawyer — a controversy we dubbed A Gay Gatesgate, referencing the furor over Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates’s arrest by Cambridge police. We expressed the view that the police sometimes abuse their authority in dealing with outspoken citizens (and it seems that many of you agree with us, based on the results of our opinion poll).
Yesterday the gay lawyer who was arrested in D.C., Pepin Tuma — a former associate at Milbank Tweed and Gibson Dunn, so he’s part of the Biglaw tribe — wrote about his arrest in the Washington Post. After describing the conduct that led to his arrest, which should be familiar to readers of our earlier post, Tuma writes:
I am in fact a gay man. And because I have been involved in civil rights work, I know my rights, and I calmly asserted them [to the arresting officer]. I asked why I was being detained. I explained that, as a lawyer, I knew it was not a crime to offer a public opinion about the police. But the troubling police conduct did not end there. Other officers have acted to bolster Culp’s fabricated version of the incident. One of his superiors attempted to induce witnesses to attest that I resisted arrest when I had not. Another superior falsely wrote to Internal Affairs that I confirmed that Culp had advised me to move along before arresting me; he did not. It appears that officers simply lied over and over to cover up an unconstitutional arrest.
Tuma builds his case, after the jump.
Tuma shares some interesting statistics about the D.C. police:
The city has a longstanding problem with police abuse of “disorderly conduct” arrests, and it knows it. A 2003 report concluded that the District’s disorderly conduct arrest rate was two to four times the rate nationwide. In 2000 alone, D.C. police made 10,600 disorderly conduct arrests — more than one in every five arrests made and nearly twice the number in the next largest category.
To the commenters who criticized Tuma for mouthing off in the first place, he concedes that it wasn’t his finest hour, but explains why it wasn’t “disorderly conduct”:
My behavior was juvenile, but nothing I did was illegal. I never cursed; no crowd of bystanders formed; I was not drunk. Because I am innocent, and importantly — because I understand the legal system and can defend myself — I am confident my name will be cleared and the charges dismissed.
Good luck, Pepin. Let us know next time you’re up in New York, and we’ll buy you a drink.
(But if we leave the bar and you start talking back to the NYPD, we don’t know you.)
My ‘Crime’ on U Street? Offending the Police [Washington Post]
Earlier: A Gay Gatesgate? D.C. Lawyer Arrested for Disorderly Conduct, Claims Officer Called Him ‘Fa**ot’
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Comments
FIRST?
SECOND?
Fucking Pigs.
SETON HALL SECURE?
This kid went looking for trouble and he found it. I have little sympathy.
What is with that shirt he's wearing?
http://twitter.com/PartnerEmeritus
Why do black men always hate the cops? What? he's white? This story does not fit into my preconceived notions and I will therefore ignore it.
Am I the only one who thinks those "That's So Gay" PSA's are, well... gay?
5 - I don't care about the shirt, I just want to see Pepin out of it!
Of course DC has twice the rate for disorderly conduct arrests...i cant believe its not higher. There are a lot more protests in DC than anywhere else...
This guy is a total attention whore. Lat, stop humoring your tricks and get back to reporting real news.
Lat, why don't you do a story on V&E's offer rate?
Gays don't belong in the law, except maybe as secretaries.
Heterosexual Athlete
This guy is a dweeb.
But cops are so out of control with this disorderly conduct cowboy BS that someone needs to call them on it. Cops are not nannies. They are not speech police either. Cover your ears and cry, but don't arrest people for saying something you don't like.
It's not a Tuma!!!
15,
Who is your daddy, and what does he do?
My firm employs homosexuals. I have one sacred rule for homosexual attorneys: I don't ever want to hear about your private sexual escapades or your latest argument with your gay lover. Years ago when I was on the hiring committee, I would often ask candidates if they would feel comfortable spending a night in a foxhole with a homosexual. The person that answered quickly and with a straight face usually received an offer.
Lat is gay?
Wow, the disorderly conduct rate is higher in DC?!
Washington DC is the center of government, genius. When they had civil rights protests they had them in DC. When people protest nuclear weapons and human rights violations in China, they do it in DC.
In addition to that, all urban areas for the most part have higher disorderly conduct arrest rates than the national average. It is the nature of having people live close to one another.
So why exactly is this guy surprised that there is a higher rate of disorderly conduct arrests in Washington DC? Sounds like a flamboyant guy who had a grudge against the police and was shocked when they arrested him for his act of idiocy in the street. Good.
Uh, 19. DC is tiny. And the actual arrest of protesting people doesn't happen all the freaking time. People are hella complacent.
"I am in fact [sic] a gay man."
He should have warned everyone to sit down for that one...
"The police lie?" SHOCKER!
That dude looks gay. I mean real gay, like homosexual gay.
PE, I heart you.
xoxo
Muffy
He wrote a good piece for the WP. He's got balls. Much respect.
20 = Pepin Tuma (what the hell kind of name is that?)
Tuma has bigger balls than 99% of you on this board.
Say what you will about the man, but admit that he has a cool name.
Is this guy hates cops so much, and has such an astounding command of real-world law, I dare him to work one day for the DA. Just one day. Hell, work one day as an intern for the DA.
He has no idea what cops deal with every day. Sure, the charges will get dismissed. Doesn't mean he's right, doesn't mean he has any idea what the real world is like.
I bet 99.8% of the clothing in this guy's closet is from Vineyard Vines.
@27 - He has elephantiasis?
LATTT.
Well if a lawyer knowing the way cops behave got arrested what chance did poor old Gates have?
Seems to be like police reports are less and less accurate than what I first imagined.
27 - That is incorrect. My balls are so big I use them as a "hop-a-long" and bounce on them to get to work everyday.
So because DC is the center of government and host to a lot of protests, you are satisfied with that number of arrests? Seems narrow-minded and very complacent. Most protests don't result in arrests. And that is an extremely high number compared to other arrests and the nation. Heck, even on a daily, per-capita calculation. Seems like it requires further looking into. Though I'm not willing to conclude anything from it yet.
It's not a tuma
I agree with #5 - he was looking to cause a problem and picked the wrong fight. He does seem to admit that when he says it was dumb for him to do what he did.
On the stats about DC having more disorderly conduct arrests than average, that seems perfectly in-line with the fact that the city is the political power base and as such is subject to more protests, etc.
Balls.
Reminds me of this youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_SmQN_LOQA
Just because it is not illegal, doesn't mean the police like it.
Peepin Tom got arrested. He will not be convicted.
If the police lose control of a situation, their lives are in danger. The way you lose control is by not stopping inappropriate behavior.
Its not a Tuna, so suck it!
I'm sorry, but I'm missing the point as to why being gay has anything to do with it. Maybe it's in the original story, which I'm not going to read, but otherwise it just doesn't seem to matter.
Also, just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean you should go ahead and do it.
lat, this is a stupid post. this is like a mystal post except without all the spelling and grammar errors. perhaps you two are running an experiment where he writes the substance of the article and you proofread it and then slap your name on it? if so, we're still calling the article stupid even if it has your name on it.
Lat, you make me ashamed to be gay.
while he may be correct on the wrongful nature of the arrest, it seems like he is grasping to make this a "gay" issue -- no anti-gay slur made until out of earshot of friends and clearly being gay had nothing to do with the arrest. this is issue worthy of discussion without the necessity of gay angle forced onto it
Hey Pepin,
Welcome to Hussein's Amerika.
Why is he wearing his pajamas in this picture?
I agree with the OP. Nothing can raise tensions more in a hostile police encounter than some twit bragging that he is a a lawyer. If you feel that a police officer is being unprofessional, you should be polite during the encounter, and raise your concerns in a proper forum after the fact. What a dumb ass this guy is.
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Mr. Tuna can learn a valueable lesson from a former associate I will refer to as "Bruno." Bruno was a closet homosexual who tried very hard to hide his deviant sexual proclivities from other associates and members of the firm. The firm sent Bruno to an assignment in Wilmington, Delaware. On the way there, Bruno decided to take a detour and frolic with others of his kind on Rehoboth Beach. Apparently, Bruno had too much to drink and passed out in his car while the engine was running. Bruno had another man's face on his lap while Bruno's pants were around his ankles. Bruno was subsequently found by the police who tried to administer a field sobriety test. Rather than comply, Bruno began arguing with the police and challenged them on probably cause. Needless to say, the police arrested Bruno and listed the sordid details under which he was discovered on the police report. Bruno did not make it to his assignment on time. He was terminated with prejudice from the firm. The lesson to be learned from Bruno's experience is: let the police do their job and refrain from impressing them with your gay flamboyance.
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He has the "right" to walk down the street in a thong and a posterboard about how much he hates the cops. Does that sound like a good idea?
Really, who screams at cops about how much they hate cops and then complains about getting arrested??? He's lucky they didn't beat the crap out of him.
35 - I never said I was satisfied with a higher number of disorderly conduct arrests. While you may consider me narrow-minded and complacent, I consider you overly critical and underly empathetic with the role and reality of a police officer in a major city sharing concurrent jurisdiction with a number of other police departments. The number is simply going to be higher, despite what one gay man with an agenda proclaims in the Wash Post.
-39
That was hilarious. I would have done the exact same thing the cop did.
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PE...
what the fuck is "probably cause"?
Someone came back from his bar trip too fast.
Several years ago I was a summer associate assigned to PE. He gave me incredibly complex business disputes to analyze. I was in over my head. I finally brought him a bunch of cases that I thought might be on point. I begged him to just read them and go from there.
He took pity on me. I am now his gardener.
PE, thanks for letting us know your recent bar review course covered the following topics: "detour and frolic", "probably cause" and "dismissed with prejudice". What a loser.
This comment is addressed to post no. 54.
Let's dissect this. I am 66 years old and suffer from phalangeal arthritis. I will make typos from time to time. If you could not understand the original intent of my terms, then it is, to borrow my own typo, probably cause you are a nimrod.
I hope someone beats this guy with a sack of frozen tuna.
wouldn't placing him in a cell with a bunch of guys be a reward? What's he complaining about?
If a young lawyer gets arrested on U Street tonight for shouting "I HATE HOMOSEXUALS" at a gay police officer, where do you think Tuma and Lat will direct their rage?
Pepin Tuma.
PE,
What are the ramifications when a firm hires an attorney named "Pepin Tuma?"
Sincerely,
An aspiring managing partner
Or, to more accurately attribute your "arthritis", I'd say it's "probably cause" of your time spent on Rehoboth Beach.
How was your trip, PE?
Wait, Pepin Tuma is his real name???
I would be inclined to agree with those not surprised by DC's rate of disorderly conduct arrests. The city has, over the years, put up pretty good violent crime numbers against the national average despite its comparatively unremarkable population. Still, Tuma would have us think that, because more people are arrested for assault in DC (as compared to Wichita), police in DC are abusing their power.
Regardless of qualitative factors like DC's local and visiting populations, the social context of behavior in DC (as compared to Omaha), and any anecdotal suggestions floating around, Tuma's remark implying a "statistical basis" for his victimization was misused, foolish, and ultimately hurts his credibility with those of us capable of thinking critically. If he is so inclined to twist the truth on paper, how much veracity does his complete story have?
It's no wonder he attempts to rest on his lawyer laurels; but it is a wonder he earned them at all if the shamefully poor argument he presents is representative of his work product. Stick to Sotomayor's empathy standard, Pepin, 'cause stats ain't your thing. And while Tuma will be vindicated in court, it ultimately boils down to this: Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Pepin Tuma represents everything that is going wrong with this country (and NOT because he is gay)
I would also like to point out that hating the police because of the actions of one cop (or 10 cops) is pretty hypocrtitical. "I had a bad experience with one cop, so I hate them all" - this from someone who studied and worked within the civil rights arena???
What an asshole.
As for everyone who voted "F*ck the police" - how many of you have experience working with the police or have a relative/friend on the force? You are a bunch of blind weenies. Get a clue about the real world.
Maybe he was arrested for appearing in public in pajamas.
Is is a good idea to interrupt a lawyer or judge in court and say: "I hate lawyers and judges?"
Cops were in the midst of a traffic stop, Tuma knew nothing about it, and distracted them with his petty childishness. He is a tool.
I think I saw this guy hanging out with that Lambda, Lamar Latrell.
Either way, he should know how to exercise his Fifth Amendment right to shut the fuck up.
This thread is.....GAYYYYYYYYYYY!
This Tumor needs a fucking bat to beat to total douchebagginess out of him. Dis-bar the stupid fuck.
Oh, and nice shirt you fucking retard!
I hate the police but at the same time don't feel sorry for this guy and that's for the same reason I didn't feel sorry for Gates. Anyone with common sense, especially those us lucky enough to be highly educated, should know not to mouth off to the cops. Common sense tells me to act respectfully for the very reasons I do hate them.
I ordered a Pepin Tuma on Rye for lunch. Now my stomach's turning over and I'm afraid I'm going to spend my afternoon on the shitter.
This would never have happend in Chicago....
I am a gay, former BIGLAW lawyer who now works for the ACLU. Just this last weekend, in a different city, I had a similar incident happen to me. There's still a lot of hate out there, but it makes sense when you think about who, in general, become police officers. Luckily, my life is now dedicated to policing the police and I may have the officers who apprehended me put on desk duty, but others are not so lucky. If I were black, I'd be in jail right now. Because I'm gay, they just thought it would be fun to mess with me. I'm going to have fun messing with their paychecks.
Maybe someone else can confirm this, but was Frodo Baggins or Samwise Gamgee with him that night?
Serious question: If Pepin sues the D.C. police for violating his civil rights, would that be a 1983 action or a Bivens action? I'm not sure.
Still don't see what his sexual orientation has to do with anything . . .
75- You were screaming in a cops face and then he arrested you "because you are gay?"
It's true, I scream in cops' faces all the time-- I never get arrested because I'm straight. They just stand there and take it, sometimes they let me kick them in the ass because ITS MY RIGHT AS A CITIZEN!
Packers in the fudge unit of the candy factory used to mouth off to Mister Wonka all the time and have Oompalumpas subsequently detain them. It was no big deal.
79 - This is 75 here. I didn't read the whole story, whoops. I was not screaming in a police officer's face. I was robbed and went to the police officer for help, sort of in a panic, and he accused me of lying and looking for a ride home (I told him I needed help getting back to my apartment because I was new to the city and had no way of finding my way home). He told me I had two options: either be arrested (didn't say what the charge would be) or to literally run away. So I ran. This was all about 2am.
Originally, I didn't think this occurred because I was gay but after telling the story to a few people around the city (including my co-workers at the ACLU) they convinced me otherwise. I was an easy target for the police officer to pick on (vulnerable, gay, was just the victim of a crime) and I guess he thought it'd be fun to mess with me.
Like I said, I'm having fun messing with his career. Sorry for the misunderstanding - my own fault for barely reading.
#75... If you yelled at a cop as well, when #71 is done with his bat, I hope he fucking pops your retarded ass too.
You are a dumb cunt. The word would be a better place without you.
82 - sorry for the confusion. I didn't yell at the police officer. I was on the verge of tears because I had just had my wallet stolen and was completely lost. I really should have read this article over first.
The point remains that police do like to mess with gay people, just like they treat African-Americans and Hispanics differently.
Fuck... #82 here... never mind #75, just read your follow up. Sorry. Nothing to see here... move along.
I interviewed w/ this guy. That name is hard to forget. Seemed very nice. Was very polite and easy going.
65 - there is a large difference between an assault arrest and one for disorderly conduct, namely that the police have been known time and again to use disorderly conduct to cover all manner of behaviors that they 'dislike'. Critical thinking fail.
66 - I have several family members and close friends who are cops, including two siblings. While I would not necessarily vote for 'F*ck the police', I think that taking a positive stance toward the police just because I know a few good ones would be just as hypocritical as what you are accusing others of. I may know some great cops but I also know that cops can, and often do, suck.
Why hasn't Officer Culp's side of the story been posted here? Biased much?
And I seriously hate boorish cop behavior. But it's not fair to just print Tuma's arguments in a vacuum.
PT (Pepin Tuma) = PE (Professor Emeritus)?
Why didn't someone catch the similarity earlier? No wonder PE has been so motivated by this thread.
Will the criminal charges against this schmeckle be dropped? Probably.
The more interesting question is whether the D.C. Bar should have a few choice words with him about conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice...
I hate people with funny names. I hate people with funny names!
This DB is probably one of the same Libs that wants to shut down town halls because people are expressing themselves in a way that doesn't conform to the Democrats agenda. Typical. And, yeah, I'm gay.
75
You are as big a loser as Pepin Tuma. So, you "police the police" and will have fun "messing with his paycheck" or getting him assigned desk duty?
Who the heck do you think you are? Someone "stole" your wallet (you probably lost it at 2 am in some bar). You go to a police station and (I'm guessing here, but seeing as you like to "mess" with people's paychecks) probably demanded a ride home because, after all, the police work for you! They probably thought you were drunk (c'mon, what were you doing out at 2 am?) and sent you on your way.
It's people like you who should not be lawyers. You are an embarrassment to the profession.
Have fun "messing" with people's lives. Just because the the police did not assign a CSI unit to your situation does not mean they were anti -gay.
How did they know you were gay anyway? Why is that even an issue? BECAUSE YOU ARE MAKING IT ONE.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH
75
you sound so POWERFUL!
you POLICE the police!
you are going to get them assigned to desk duty!
Wow! I am so glad the ACLU has lawyers like you on their side.
Let me guess.......you went into the police station and within the first 30 seconds you told them you were a lawyer. And then, when the entire station did not drop what they were doing to solve your crime, you ran away.
Pathetic Loser.
Two words for the Pepman and # 75
GROW UP
Bumble Bee. You can tell it's a fresher-tasting Tuma.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky53zmbIyec
Pepin Le Pew
This only happened to him because he is a black man.
19 If so than the arrest rate for disorderly conduct should dramatically increase in other cities when hosting protests. This is not the case. You have incorrectly assumed that arrest rate=crime rate. Silly fallacy; the number of arrests in an area do not reflect the number of crimes committed in that area (ex. areas with more police have a greater arrest rate than those with less police because you have more cops to catch people (i.e. speeding) even though the same amount of crimes may be committed.) More protests do not necessarily equal more arrests nor do more arrests necessarily equal more crime.
You'll buy him a drink, eh, Lat? Why - because he mouthed off to a policeman without any cause whatsoever?
Blind prejudice that condemns all policemen to mockery hardly deserves a reward.
79 = Hilarious
91:
What is a lib???
why doesn't ATL show a picture of what he really looks like?
DC arrests for protesting are not generally for disorderly conduct -- they're for failure to obey a police order or a variety of other things. Nice try, though.
I know he's your friend, Lat, and it's hard to have to have to stick up for friends publicly when they do stupid things, so I'll say it for you:
It seems like Pepin acted stupidly, got busted legitimately, and pissed the cop off enough on a hot night that the cop lost his cool post-arrest. But the thing it looks like the cop did wrong was calling him a fag, not arresting him in the first place. Calling the entire encounter anti-gay is crying wolf and makes it that much harder to believe others who really are denied justice bc they're LGBT. It's selfish, unethical and goes against what lawyers are supposed to stand for.
36 + 69 > Pepin Tuma
36 + 69 > Pepin Tuma
"Good luck, Pepin. Let us know next time you're up in New York, and we'll buy you a drink."
Buy him what, Lat? A c*m shot? Take your contrived indignation and pathetic adulation elsewhere.
The guy did it at the wrong place & wrong time, & was completely unprovoked. He prob wanted detention--the only way he could get a 'date' for that night.
This guy is such a douchebag. Why the f*ck is this news?
He's pretty cute.
He's cute. I would date him. Considering the number of unattractive gay men in law I suppose my standards maybe low.
One correction- I am 110. I should say considering the number of unattractive men who are mostly stupid and have a sense of entitled. Period. Because reading this thread, I am once again reminded it is not just the looks that I find so unattractive amongst many of my "colleagues."
This guy is going to talk himself right into a misdemeanor conviction.
Maybe he should have been charged with obstruction of justice, or I am pretty sure there is a specific law against interfering with a police, firefighter, emt in most jurisdictions. But walking up to a police officer in the middle of a traffic stop is not cricket, and not very smart either.
The people that you want messing with drug dealers, pimps, rapists, murderers and general scumbags are not necessarily going to be pleasant when you deal with them, although in my experience they generally give what they get.
The dude is an idiot. So what if he was exercising his civil right to say he hates cops? What was the point? Moreover, if you antagonize a cop you should expect the cop to look for an excuse to detain you. My God, use some common sense. If the matter doesn't involve you, then stay out of it and let the cops do their jobs. But to stand across the street and bad mouth the cops is just asking for trouble. I repeat, the dude is an idiot.
Wow, you guys are a bunch of homophobic fu*kholes. Chanes are most of you fantasize about a nice big c*ck sliding down your throat, yet you announce your heterosexuality. Crazy.
Wow, you guys are a bunch of homophobic fu*kholes. Chanes are most of you fantasize about a nice big c*ck sliding down your throat, yet you announce your heterosexuality. Crazy.
Wow, you guys are a bunch of homophobic fu*kholes. Chanes are most of you fantasize about a nice big c*ck sliding down your throat, yet you announce your heterosexuality. Crazy.
Wow, you guys are a bunch of homophobic fu*kholes. Chanes are most of you fantasize about a nice big c*ck sliding down your throat, yet you announce your heterosexuality. Crazy.
Wow, you guys are a bunch of homophobic fu*kholes. Chanes are most of you fantasize about a nice big c*ck sliding down your throat, yet you announce your heterosexuality. Crazy.
This dude sounds like a total bitch - he probably just wanted to go to jail so that he could suck some cock.
You aren't supposed to get arrested unless you've done something that violates the law. Rule of law, and all that. I don't care how hard the police have it (and I'm sure they do), they can't just make stuff up. Knowing people who have been arrested on trumped-up disorderly conduct charges - all I can say is, you'd be singing a different tune if it happened to you.
There's a lot of homophobia in these comments. Very disheartening.