The deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies have proven one thing. Even gay police officers can commit acts of evil. With Mardi Gras now in full swing, there has been an uneasy feeling swirling around in recent days regarding the police being present, with the anti-police sentiment raising its head just hours before the event was due to begin in Sydney.
However, do the people who are anti-police realise that the police officer who killed Jesse and Luke was gay? In their eyes, all police are the same, regardless of their sexuality. This is wrong on so many levels. Would they be complaining if it was a gay firefighter who was being accused of murder? What about if it were an Ambo? The Police Commissioner, Karen Webb, who is already under fire, literally said that Jesse and Luke’s deaths were not a gay hate crime. How do we know this? Well, look at the fact that Beau Lamarre-Condon is gay. So, how can it be a hate crime if it’s a gay man killing two gay men? Make that make sense.
The Police Bind
When Beau Lamarre-Condon was revealed to be the only suspect in Jesse and Luke’s murders, it became apparent very quickly that his involvement in the deaths was going to place the overall New South Wales Police Force in a bind.
There are not that many public cases of Australian police officers killing innocent civilians. The most famous one is probably Roger Rogerson, who was eventually caught for various offences. But his most recognisible offence that made him come unstuck was his involvement in the murder of drug smuggler Jamie Gao.
The Roger Rogerson Situation
Rogerson was a well-respected detective until he engaged in crime. In the Police Force, if you’re caught committing any crime, your reputation is shot from the second it hits the public. However, Lamarre-Condon, in 2020, dodged a bullet when he was cleared for overly tasering a man who was then charged but later acquitted. In the video footage, he threatened to shoot the guy.
Not all police think in the same manner. Yes, there are some horrible police officers out there who only want the power without the responsibility. The people in the pre Mardi Gras protest were essentially in the mindset of the the Defund the Police movement in the United States.
Falling Chaos
Without police, the world would fall into chaos. Also, lumping all police into one box shows how hate truly spreads. It’s like putting all Muslims into the same box. Yes, there are some extremists out there, but they’re not all the same.
It is understandable why some people are mistrusting of police, but being anti-police solves nothing. The Mardi Gras was once a protest against the police who were once horrible towards the gay community. For the last twenty years, they have marched in harmony to show there is no ill will between the two factions.
Beau Lamarre-Condon disgraced the small group of police who are members of the gay community. The reason the police force marches is because they are showing support for their own. The two factions have come a long way since the event started.
Also, there were a lot of police who were up in arms over being banned from the event. Not to mention, the Anti-Police group, Pride in Protest, argued that the Mardi Gras board cracked under the pressure.
What Pride in Protest is advocating for is discrimination against police altogether, not harmony. They don’t believe in putting grievances aside. If it were up to them, the two factions would be at permanent war, and they would have something to complain about regarding law enforcement.
