Gay Airport Cruisers Arrested in Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA -- Officers who allegedly patrol public restrooms at Atlanta's International Airport in search of luggage thieves have arrested more than 30 people in three months for indecent exposure and public sex acts.

According to The Associated Press, airport restrooms have become popular meeting places for men looking to hook up with other men, and have even been suggested several times as a meeting place on Internet bulletin boards.

Several ads on the classified site Craigslist suggest that many guys have found an interesting way to kill some time while they are stuck waiting for their flight at the airport. "Hey ... I'm stuck at the airport from 5 p.m. and I'm looking for a good time ...," one ad reads. "Guy wants some discreet, quick action," says another.

According to police spokesman Officer Joseph Villafane, the patrols were started to stop theft, not to catch people in compromising situations.

The restroom monitorings started after the police discovered that criminals stole bags off the baggage-claim carousels and then used the toilet stalls to sift through them.

"We're trying to provide a safe environment for everyone at the airport," said Officer Villafane. "We're not out to get all that - it's just we encounter it."

Among those arrested are not only regular travelers. A police officer arrested Ed Wall, Chairman of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority board, claiming to have seen Wall having oral sex with another man. Wall has temporarily stepped down from his post but is maintaining his innocence..

Some say the sex stings are a waste of time, and that the police should have better things to do.

"Police have far better things to do with their time than to arrest people for this," said Kenneth Sherrill, professor at Hunter College of The City University of New York. "Being 'sex police' in bathrooms strikes me as a perversion of rational law enforcement activities."