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Bruce Charles Boland

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Bruce Charles Boland

Birth
Death
19 Aug 1995 (aged 48)
West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Burial
Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend Add to Map
Memorial ID
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Bruce Boland; Gay Deputy Sued Sheriff's Department
August 26, 1995

Bruce Boland, 48, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was the first gay officer to sue that agency for discrimination. A native of Chicago who was educated at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., Boland became a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff in 1984 and was assigned to the West Hollywood station. He was fired in 1991 allegedly because he falsified a 1989 report of the arrest of a man for possession of drug paraphernalia. Boland was charged with felony preparation of false evidence, but a judge dismissed the criminal case in 1992. By then, the Sheriff's Department had reinstated Boland, citing new information in his case. He sued the department for $90 million, claiming he was harassed and fired because of his sexual orientation, an accusation the department denied. Boland dropped his civil suit when he was given his job back in 1992. Until it ended, the Boland dispute prompted outcries of discrimination against gays and fueled calls for a private police force for the city of West Hollywood. On Aug. 19 in West Hollywood of complications of AIDS.

Gay Ex-Deputy Claims Bias : Law enforcement: Bruce Boland was fired amid allegations that he falsified an arrest report, and faces criminal prosecution. He says it was just a procedural error.
January 23, 1992|DUKE HELFAND | SPECIAL TO THE TIMES



Bruce C. Boland doesn't want to be at the center of a cause celebre. He says he just wants to be a cop again.

A former West Hollywood sheriff's deputy who is gay, Boland, 45, was fired last April amid allegations by his superiors and the district attorney's office that he falsified a police report.

Bruce Boland; Gay Deputy Sued Sheriff's Department
August 26, 1995

Bruce Boland, 48, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was the first gay officer to sue that agency for discrimination. A native of Chicago who was educated at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., Boland became a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff in 1984 and was assigned to the West Hollywood station. He was fired in 1991 allegedly because he falsified a 1989 report of the arrest of a man for possession of drug paraphernalia. Boland was charged with felony preparation of false evidence, but a judge dismissed the criminal case in 1992. By then, the Sheriff's Department had reinstated Boland, citing new information in his case. He sued the department for $90 million, claiming he was harassed and fired because of his sexual orientation, an accusation the department denied. Boland dropped his civil suit when he was given his job back in 1992. Until it ended, the Boland dispute prompted outcries of discrimination against gays and fueled calls for a private police force for the city of West Hollywood. On Aug. 19 in West Hollywood of complications of AIDS.

Gay Ex-Deputy Claims Bias : Law enforcement: Bruce Boland was fired amid allegations that he falsified an arrest report, and faces criminal prosecution. He says it was just a procedural error.
January 23, 1992|DUKE HELFAND | SPECIAL TO THE TIMES



Bruce C. Boland doesn't want to be at the center of a cause celebre. He says he just wants to be a cop again.

A former West Hollywood sheriff's deputy who is gay, Boland, 45, was fired last April amid allegations by his superiors and the district attorney's office that he falsified a police report.

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