Rain failed to deter 20 people from attending a vigil in Sydney Park on Saturday to protest alleged harassment of ‘beat users’ by police.

The vigil, in the park’s AIDS Memorial Grove and organised by Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH), was held in response to recent complaints about police intimidation, including allegations that officers were subjecting men to derogatory comments and threats to use pepper spray.

Three police officers entered the park at 10pm, shortly after the vigil began, and observed the proceedings at a distance.

The gathering heard stories from beat users, including one who did not want his name published, who said he was forced to his knees by police on a late-night visit to Sydney Park. Police held a can of capsicum spray close to his face and verbally insulted him, he alleged.

Another told SX that police regularly drove through the park in cars “at very high speeds to frighten the shit out of guys”.

The three police officers present on Saturday were dressed in plain clothes, and when approached by SX to ascertain the reason for their visit, the men – from Redfern Police Station – said they were “just being proactive”.

Asked why they weren’t in uniform, one officer said: “Look, we’re not trying to disguise ourselves”.

Detective Inspector Bradley Monk, from Redfern Local Area Command (LAC), subsequently told SX that officers are regularly deployed in plain clothes on patrols. “This is nothing unusual.  We were also aware of the protest activity scheduled for Saturday night and police have a responsibility to monitor protest activity and ensure appropriate conduct.”

“It is an offence to have sex in a public place,” he added.  

A vigil attendee, however, opined that police had “better things to do”.

“While they’re shining torches into bushes, trying to catch a couple of guys copping off in the dark, a little old lady somewhere is getting robbed and can’t get through on Triple-0,” he told SX.

Some gay activists, however, strongly censured CAAH for organising the vigil. Gary Burns said he feared for the safety of beat users after the vigil drew mainstream media coverage last week.

“Beats are supposed to be discreet, but CAAH may as well have brought in a three-piece band,” he told SX. “My fear is that because of the hysterics of [CAAH spokesperson] Rachel Evans, the people she’s trying to protect may become victims of gay-hate violence.”

NSW Police Corporate Spokesperson for GLBT issues, Superintendent Donna Adney Police, said police were trying to protect beat users, not harass them.

“Beats or ‘lovers’ lanes’ can become target areas for offenders wanting to commit a variety of crimes therefore police will always patrol these areas.”

Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project (AVP) Project Coordinator Nancy de Castro said the AVP had not received any complaints from beat goers about police harassment, but would act on them if it did.

“On occasions when we do receive complaints about the policing of beats the AVP takes those complaints directly to the police and works collaboratively with a range of partners including police, council, rangers, NSW Health, and other NGOs to find a solution,” she said.

Rachel Evans, meantime, said the vigil had “put police on notice”, and that another vigil would be held in the same location on Saturday, November 29 from 9pm.

“Our next step is to call on police to decriminalise sexual activities in parks at night-time, in the same way it’s been decriminalised in parks in Amsterdam,” she said.

CAAH has set up a ‘Sydney Beat Project’ website, informing beat users of their rights, at www.caah.org/caah_sydney.

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