The police promised ramped-up protection of gay and lesbian nightspots in town following the massacre of LGBQT bar patrons in Orlando, Florida.
The department issued a statement reporting that “Chief Dean Esserman has ordered officers to focus on the city’s public gathering places — especially nightclubs, concert halls, LGBTQ venues, theaters and public spaces.
“We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community and our partners in policing as we denounce this deliberately perpetrated act of violence”, the release quoted Esserman as saying. “Our community is a greatly diverse one and we are a police department that sees everyone equally.”
Meanwhile, the people who run Partners Cafe, the city’s oldest gay and lesbian bar at Crown and York Streets, expressed support for the victims.
“It’s the not the world that’s screwed up. It’s the people in it,” co-owner Dave Kleman remarked Monday. He and his staff posted the following statement on the club’s web page:
“We at Partners Cafe are saddened by the events that occurred at Pulse Night Club in Orlando, Florida. We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims that loss their lives that night and wish those that were injured in this tragic event a speedy recovery. The LGBT community is at a loss for words at a time when we find ourselves celebrating PRIDE month here in the USA and around the world.
“In the face of adversity history has shown us to be a resilient community and this tragic hate crime will not diminish our spirits. This will only make us stronger. It is with this spirit that we at Partners will remain open for business in solidarity to those that lost their lives and continue to honor them by celebrating our PRIDE. We will continue to be a place where the entire LGBT community can come to be among friends and for some, family. We are working closely with the City of New Haven, New Haven Police Department and The Yale Campus Police to minimize the risk to our customer, our staff and out community.”