Report sheds light on Stott Center incident

Conflicting accounts over what transpired on Dec. 3, 2008, in a bathroom on the second floor of the Peter W. Stott Center are at the heart of a story that, after more than four months, is now gaining more clarity.

The Vanguard reported on April 9 that two men, Taylor Vineyard and Stephen Priest, were detained on that day last year after another man, Andrew Bridge, witnessed them having sex in the Stott Center. It was also reported that Vineyard was arrested and sent to the Multnomah County jail on charges of public indecency and criminal trespassing.

The charges against Vineyard were dropped March 26 after Bridge decided against testifying, due to his belief that Vineyard had done no wrong and should not have been arrested. In addition, a separate report by the Dean of Students Office cleared Vineyard of all wrongdoing.

“The charges were dismissed because I chose not to go to court,” Bridge said.

Vineyard denies any participation in these events, though he admits to being in the Stott Center on that day, but only to use the restroom.

New details, including a criminal incident report from the Campus Public Safety Office, are shedding light on what may have happened.

According to the report, the incident began when Bridge, a junior political science major at Portland State, was using one of the stalls in the second floor men’s restroom in the Stott Center late in the afternoon of Dec. 3. Bridge said an older man, who remains unidentified, eyed him as Bridge was in the stall.

“He kind of stepped back and a moment or two later there was another guy with him and they were masturbating,” Bridge said, adding he saw the two standing near the bathroom’s bank of urinals.

That other man was identified by CPSO as Stephen Priest, an individual who, according to CPSO officer David Baker’s comments in the incident report, had been known to loiter in that particular restroom as well as a restroom on the fourth floor of Cramer Hall.

“I quickly realized what was happening,” Bridge said. “When I stood up and saw the two were masturbating, I called CPSO.”

Bridge said he left the building to call CPSO, but returned to the bathroom after making the call to see what was going on. It was then that Bridge said he saw Priest and a man who was later identified as former Portland State student Taylor Vineyard in a compromising position. Bridge said Vineyard and Priest were in a stall and it appeared that Vineyard was performing oral sex on Priest.

Unlike the previous incident between Priest and the older man—where Bridge said he clearly saw Priest’s genitals—Bridge did not see anything explicit.

“I go back in, I come down the stairs from the outside, as I come in I open the door and I see another man [Vineyard] on his knees in front of the other guy [Priest] who was masturbating,” Bridge said, adding “all I saw was the guy’s head.”

According to the incident report and Bridge’s account, he then left the restroom to wait for CPSO. When CPSO officer Baker arrived, he was flagged down by Bridge on the south side of the Stott Center, where Bridge pointed out Priest and Vineyard.

“I instructed the males to sit down and obtained identification,” Baker wrote in the incident report. “I told Priest and Vineyard that someone had reported that they were masturbating in view of other people in the restroom. I told them they were no [sic] under arrest, but I was detaining them.”

Priest admitted to masturbating and was issued a citation for public indecency and let go. Vineyard admitted to nothing and was taken to the CPSO where he was fingerprinted.
 
“I still don’t understand why Public Safety arrested Vineyard,” Bridge said. “He could have been checking his zipper for all I know.”

Alleged misconduct
According to Vineyard, Baker and the other officer on hand during the arrest were disrespectful toward them and displayed homophobic behavior during their arrest.

“They told us, ‘If you guys confess, it’s up to me and you guys won’t go to jail,'” Vineyard said. “When he [Priest] confessed to masturbating, the cop said, ‘Ew, why do you do that?’ Then they were snickering and giggling.”

Amy Romberg, development coordinator for PSU’s Queer Resource Center, one of the first places Vineyard and his husband, Andrew Klaus, turned to for support, said that her first reaction was surprise and disappointment at the officers’ conduct.

“Since GLBTQ presence is strong at PSU, my expectations of those who work on campus is to be respectful of the students who identify that way,” Romberg said.

Lissa Kaufman, an attorney who works at PSU’s Student Legal and Mediation Services, said that it’s not uncommon for an officer to elicit a confession from his or her suspect.

“Cops can do all kinds of things to elicit a voluntary confession,” Kaufman said, speaking on a basis of generality. “The real question here is whether they have probable cause to make the arrest.”

Vineyard said he believes that not only was the officer being homophobic, but that Bridge himself is also a homophobe, even though Bridge is a gay man himself.

“There was homophobic [behavior] across the board,” Romberg said. “[Bridge] had made previous allegations of this nature before, so I think you have to stop and examine his motive for charging people.”

Vineyard and Klaus also think that the CPSO’s Chief Michael Soto displayed homophobic behavior toward them. Soto did not respond to specific questions about this charge.

“Soto referred to Taylor as ‘my little friend, partner, whatever,'” Klaus said, “When I told him this is unacceptable, he said, ‘I don’t know how to perceive your relationship with this man.'”

Romberg and Klaus believe that a sensitivity training is needed for CPSO officers.

“One of the things that was very hard for Taylor is the use of language. It was upsetting for them,” Romberg said. “I think CPSO needs to understand a little more how to respect people’s choice of words and how they identify their partner. They need to pick up on vocabulary that people use and not being dismissive about it.” 
            
Aftermath
Aside from the financial strain the incident placed on the two—according to a Portland Mercury report, they have spent $3,000 on attorney’s fee—Klaus claims emotional damage on Vineyard’s part.

“When we went to pick up Taylor from jail, he was traumatized and just collapsed on the street and cried,” Klaus said. “We had to carry him to the car.”

According to the two, Vineyard was diagnosed with acute post-traumatic stress disorder afterward.

“I was humiliated … the first few days I stayed in the house and didn’t want to get out,” Vineyard said. “For a long time, whenever I saw a cop car I would cringe a little bit.”

Klaus said what they want is a public apology and the resignation of Soto, citing lack of transparency in their conduct and Soto’s “homophobic” attitude as their reasons. The two said the incident had taught them that even for a place like Portland, being gay means they should not let their guard down in public places.

After a Portland Mercury article was published online calling the incident “Portland’s Other Gay Witch Hunt,” Klaus said Soto had sent them an e-mail on April 3 dismissing the public trespassing charges against Vineyard, thus allowing him to be on campus.

“I think the amount of time that it takes for this thing to run its course has been sad,” Romberg said.