On Febary 5, 1981, the Toronto police iated "Operatn Soap" – the name for btal police raids on several of Toronto’s gay bathho. In the largt mass arrt sce the October Crisis, 286 men were arrted and charged as found-s, and twenty men are charged as keepers of bawdy ho. In subsequent trials, all…
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* operation soap/gay bathhouse raids *
The raids marked a turng pot for Toronto’s gay muny, as the protts that followed dited they would no longer endure rogatory treatment om the police, media and the public. The years leadg up to the raids were tense for Toronto’s gay muny. The Augt 1977 sexual asslt and murr of shohe boy Emanuel Jaqu by several men a Yonge Street massage parlour provoked sensatnal media verage that emphasized the participatn of gay men.
after Jaqu was murred, an article by Gerald Hannon the gay liberatn journal Body Polic, “Men Lovg Boys Lovg. Men, ” add to public tolerance of gay men and rulted a police raid of the publitn’s office. In the March 1979 edn of the Metropolan Toronto Police Associatn newsletter, staff sergeant Tom Moclair’s say “The Homosexual Fad” portrayed gay men as arrogant, ant viants who reced nocent children to their liftyle.
view was found among many officers by law stunt and journalist Arnold Bner while pilg a study for the cy on police relatns wh the gay muny followg the raids.