Earlier this year, Mike Verdugo was fired by the Hollywood, Florida Police for his role in an old bondage film. "Porn cop" scored a major victory last week, but will it be enough to end the "protect and service" jokes?
Well, you never know with these things, but this will probably be the last time we make fun of him for his porn past. On August 12, a 19-member state arbitration panel ruled that Verdugo could retain his certification as a police officer. This means that 19 people got together and decided (unanimously, at that) that Verdugo's pornographic past did not make him any less effective at tazing jackasses who insist on making jokes about it.
While this is a huge victory for Verdugo, who starred in the 1996 bondage film "Rope Rituals," it is by no means the end of his troubles. The ruling doesn't necessarily mean that Verdugo will get his old job back, but only that he won't need to be retrained in order to do so. He's still embroiled in a legal battle to be reinstated on the force, and his case will be arbitrated in November in Broward Circuit Court.
· Ex-Cop Keeps Certification After Gay Porn Surfaces (business.avn.com)