Corona, CA: Lawman denied Gay Pride Parade prevails

Hours after West Hollywood and California State officials decried the denial of a State Corrections officer’s request to progress in uniform in the WeHo’s annual CSW LA Pride Parade, the agency rescinded the decision.

In late March a 5-year veteran of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Andrew Johnson, age 28, requested permission to parade in uniform alongside other law enforcement representatives in this weekend’s LA Gay Pride Parade.

According to his attorney Gloria Allred, who held a press release at 11 AM this morning to announce a discrimination law suit, Mr. Johnson’s superior Guillermo G. Garcia, warden of the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Corona denied his request under a section of the Corrections Department Operating Manual on the last day of March.

That section referred to in his denial lists several activities deemed to bring “discredit” to the CDCR, including drinking in public, visiting taverns, sales activities, politicking and picketing.

It took less than five hours for the department head, Matthew Cates, to reverse his underling’s decision.

Officer Johnson is a correctional officer with the California Correctional Institution for Women in Corona since 2006, and a member of the Gay Peace Officer’s Association.

According to Ms. Allred, Officer Johnson received an invitation from West Hollywood Sheriff Captain Kelley Fraser, a lesbian, to make progress with the Greater Los Angeles peace officers contingent that marches every year in the city’s CSW Parade.