LONG BEACH, NY — David Kilmnick, president and CEO of the LGBT Network, is leading the charge to have Long Beach Police Commissioner Ronald Walsh step down and resign immediately.
Walsh ordered Riptides, a restaurant on the boardwalk, to remove a Rainbow flag that had been prominently displayed for years, the LGBT Network said in a statement.
The flag, a symbol of LGBT Pride, was previously hung alongside the American flag and a POW/MIA banner.
Walsh was targeting the removal of the Pride flag, but all others were permitted, according to the LGBT Network.
The police commissioner, when questioned by the Riptides’ owner, said he has the power to remove any flag, the network said. The LGBT Network is also calling for City Council President John Bendo’s departure, as Walsh made the removal comment alongside, and with the apparent backing of, Bendo, the statement said.
“Hate has no place here on Long Island,” Kilmnick said. “There must be accountability for Commissioner Walsh and for City Council President Bendo whose tacit endorsement clearly indicates that his time is up as well.”
However, a spokesperson for the City of Long Beach said Commissioner Walsh “exercised no personal or professional judgments other than requesting that the flags be moved a few feet away because they were in violation of the code. The City fully supports his professional response,” as part of a statement posted on the City’s website.
The LGBT Network hosted Long Island Pride events from 2017 through 2019.
“To target the symbol of LGBT Pride is unacceptable, but unsurprising,” Long Beach PBA President Brian Wells said in a statement. “We join with the LGBT Network in calling for Walsh’s and Bendo’s resignation. Together, we stand against suppression and refuse to tolerate wannabe tyrants.”
Long Beach Police Department has not yet responded to Patch with a comment.
