Tucson CitizenTucson Citizen

Cop’s confrontation with gays during tax protest spurs probe

PHOENIX – A Casa Grande police officer threatened to arrest a group of demonstrators for waving a gay pride flag, prompting an investigation by his superiors amid allegations that the officer violated the U.S. Constitution.

The incident happened Wednesday when four members of a gay rights group began waving the large flag as part of a tax protest.

Organizer Christopher Hall says he checked first with a city official who said as long as they stayed at least 5 feet from the sidewalk they would be fine.

But a police officer soon approached and told Hall his group would be arrested if they didn’t stop waving the flag. Hall and the ACLU say that’s a First Amendment violation.

Casa Grande police Chief Robert Huddleston says the department is investigating.

Citizen Online Archive, 2006-2009

This archive contains all the stories that appeared on the Tucson Citizen's website from mid-2006 to June 1, 2009.

In 2010, a power surge fried a server that contained all of videos linked to dozens of stories in this archive. Also, a server that contained all of the databases for dozens of stories was accidentally erased, so all of those links are broken as well. However, all of the text and photos that accompanied some stories have been preserved.

For all of the stories that were archived by the Tucson Citizen newspaper's library in a digital archive between 1993 and 2009, go to Morgue Part 2

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