Police: Fewer indecency arrests at Atlanta airport

<p>High-profile arrests seem to have reduced the practice of using public bathrooms at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to meet for sexual encounters.</p><p>Atlanta police have made fewer arrests for public indecency at the airport since the arrests of former MARTA Chairman Ed Wall and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, made headlines.</p><p>"We're averaging one public indecency arrest per month since June," said Atlanta Police Maj. Darryl Tolleson, who commands police operations at the airport. "It's really tapered off since, and I think all the publicity has helped."</p><p>Police at the airport arrested 11 men for public indecency in January, eight in February, 12 in March, one in April and 10 in May. But June, July and August each saw only one arrest for public indecency at the airport.</p><p>The Atlanta airport, as well as others around the country, are often mentioned as meeting places on Internet sites where men solicit other men for anonymous sexual encounters.</p><p>Wall was arrested at the airport in March by an undercover police officer who said he observed Wall performing a sex act in a handicapped stall with a man Wall met over the Internet. Wall, who resigned as MARTA chairman, has contested the public indecency charges.</p><p>"As far as I am aware, the case is still pending," Wall's attorney, Steve Sadow, said. "At this point in time, there has been no resolution."</p><p>Sen. Craig was arrested in June in a men's bathroom at the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport. He initially pleaded guilty, but has since moved to withdraw his plea.</p><p>Tolleson thinks the publicity those cases received has had an effect at Atlanta's airport.</p><p>"We still monitor all the Internet sites where people want to meet and hook up, and so often we find people posting, 'Don't post on this site, the APD is monitoring and running sting operations,'" Tolleson said.</p><p>And Tolleson said he plans to talk with Minneapolis police about their operations at that airport.</p><p>Police at Atlanta's airport do not specifically patrol for indecency cases. They have undercover officers who look for luggage thieves, who often use bathroom stalls to rifle through stolen bags. It is those patrols, Tolleson said, that usually make the indecency arrests.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2dec638)</p>