"Don't ask, don't tell" activist dies in traffic accident

PITTSFORD, N.Y. Darren Manzella, a gay combat medic discharged from the Army after criticizing the military's `don't ask, don't tell' policy in a 2007 television interview, has died in a traffic accident in western New York. He was 36.

His aunt, Robin Mahoney, on Friday confirmed his death. Manzella lived in the Chautauqua County town of Portland; he and his partner were married in July.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Manzella was driving on Interstate 490 in suburban Rochester about 8:30 p.m. Thursday when his vehicle sideswiped a car. Deputies said he stopped his vehicle, got out and began pushing the car from behind. He was then hit by an SUV, pinning him between the two vehicles. He died at the scene.

Manzella's December 2007 appearance on "60 Minutes" from the combat zone in Iraq was followed by his discharge in June 2008 for "homosexual admission," a violation of the since-rescinded policy prohibiting service members from openly acknowledging they are gay.

After the television appearance and his return from Iraq, Manzella did media interviews, each a potential violation of the policy.

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"This is who I am. This is my life," Manzella said at a Washington news conference before his discharge. "It has never affected my job performance before. I don't think it will make a difference now. And to be honest since then, I don't see a difference because of my homosexuality."

Manzella said he first told a military supervisor about his sexual orientation in August 2006, while working in a division headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas. Three weeks later, his battalion commander told him an investigation had been closed without finding "proof of homosexuality." A month later, he was sent to Iraq.

His supporters said the overseas assignment demonstrated how the military was arbitrarily enforcing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy during the war.

Manzella enlisted in the Army in 2002. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge for service in Iraq. When he was discharged, he was a sergeant serving at Fort Hood with the 1st Cavalry Division.

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"Don't ask, don't tell" activist dies in traffic accident

PITTSFORD, N.Y. Darren Manzella, a gay combat medic discharged from the Army after criticizing the military's `don't ask, don't tell' policy in a 2007 television interview, has died in a traffic accident in western New York. He was 36.

His aunt, Robin Mahoney, on Friday confirmed his death. Manzella lived in the Chautauqua County town of Portland; he and his partner were married in July.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Manzella was driving on Interstate 490 in suburban Rochester about 8:30 p.m. Thursday when his vehicle sideswiped a car. Deputies said he stopped his vehicle, got out and began pushing the car from behind. He was then hit by an SUV, pinning him between the two vehicles. He died at the scene.

Manzella's December 2007 appearance on "60 Minutes" from the combat zone in Iraq was followed by his discharge in June 2008 for "homosexual admission," a violation of the since-rescinded policy prohibiting service members from openly acknowledging they are gay.

After the television appearance and his return from Iraq, Manzella did media interviews, each a potential violation of the policy.

Play Video

"This is who I am. This is my life," Manzella said at a Washington news conference before his discharge. "It has never affected my job performance before. I don't think it will make a difference now. And to be honest since then, I don't see a difference because of my homosexuality."

Manzella said he first told a military supervisor about his sexual orientation in August 2006, while working in a division headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas. Three weeks later, his battalion commander told him an investigation had been closed without finding "proof of homosexuality." A month later, he was sent to Iraq.

His supporters said the overseas assignment demonstrated how the military was arbitrarily enforcing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy during the war.

Manzella enlisted in the Army in 2002. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge for service in Iraq. When he was discharged, he was a sergeant serving at Fort Hood with the 1st Cavalry Division.

View the original article here

"Don't ask, don't tell" activist dies in traffic accident

PITTSFORD, N.Y. Darren Manzella, a gay combat medic discharged from the Army after criticizing the military's `don't ask, don't tell' policy in a 2007 television interview, has died in a traffic accident in western New York. He was 36.

His aunt, Robin Mahoney, on Friday confirmed his death. Manzella lived in the Chautauqua County town of Portland; he and his partner were married in July.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said Manzella was driving on Interstate 490 in suburban Rochester about 8:30 p.m. Thursday when his vehicle sideswiped a car. Deputies said he stopped his vehicle, got out and began pushing the car from behind. He was then hit by an SUV, pinning him between the two vehicles. He died at the scene.

Manzella's December 2007 appearance on "60 Minutes" from the combat zone in Iraq was followed by his discharge in June 2008 for "homosexual admission," a violation of the since-rescinded policy prohibiting service members from openly acknowledging they are gay.

After the television appearance and his return from Iraq, Manzella did media interviews, each a potential violation of the policy.

Play Video

"This is who I am. This is my life," Manzella said at a Washington news conference before his discharge. "It has never affected my job performance before. I don't think it will make a difference now. And to be honest since then, I don't see a difference because of my homosexuality."

Manzella said he first told a military supervisor about his sexual orientation in August 2006, while working in a division headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas. Three weeks later, his battalion commander told him an investigation had been closed without finding "proof of homosexuality." A month later, he was sent to Iraq.

His supporters said the overseas assignment demonstrated how the military was arbitrarily enforcing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy during the war.

Manzella enlisted in the Army in 2002. He was awarded the Combat Medical Badge for service in Iraq. When he was discharged, he was a sergeant serving at Fort Hood with the 1st Cavalry Division.

View the original article here

I-57 traffic backups worsen; expect continued delays

A seven-mile parking lot — from Illinois Route 50 to Manteno— formed on Interstate 57 on Thursday, and more traffic backups can be expected in the near future.

The rainy weather was partially to blame, but delays can be expected near and in the interstate construction zone for the rest of the week, Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Alan Harwood said Thursday afternoon.

Instead of the two available lanes for both northbound and southbound traffic, each direction now only has one lane open as the road is being paved and striped.

IDOT plans to have both lanes open Sunday, Harwood said, in an effort to accommodate extra traffic as college students move back to downstate schools.

The paving and lane marking should be completed by Labor Day weekend, but if it's not, he said, both lanes in each direction will be opened because of the increased holiday traffic.

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LA traffic cop has record number of complaints

(CBS News) LOS ANGELES -- This is L.A. Sheriff's Deputy Elton Simmons, and I bet you don't like him already. Seeing him there, hiding in the shadows.

In lieu of a lecture, Elton Simmons gives most people the benefit of the doubt.

/ CBS News

'Why can't he go catch some real criminals,' you may be thinking. Or, 'No wonder he has a record number of complaints.' Who wouldn't complain about a guy whose sole purpose in life is to ruin your day?

By the very nature of the business, all L.A.County traffic cops can expect to get at least a few complaints every year. A lot of them are petty -- people just mad because they got a ticket. But regardless, they all get documented and placed in the officer's personnel file.

Which is why Capt. Pat Maxwell was stunned when he started looking through Simmons' file. "I just said that's not possible," he said.

Although he did see lots of commendations, looking back over the last 20 years, over the last 25,000 traffic stops, Capt. Maxwell couldn't find one complaint. A record: zero.

Capt. Pat Maxwell

/ CBS News

"I mean, Vegas or M.I.T could not give you the odds of the statistical probability of that," said Maxwell.

Obviously Elton is doing something right. "It's gotta be something," he said and acknowledged he had no idea.

Until the captain told him, Elton didn't even know he had such a record, let alone how he got it. "It's just how I do it every day," he said.

So we trailed him for a day to see if we could figure out how he does it.

The first thing I noticed was that he has this pitch-perfect mix of authority and diplomacy, with none of the attitude that sometimes comes with a cop.

"I'm here with you," said Elton. " I'm not up here" (motions his arm up toward the sky). One thing I hate is to be looked down on -- I can't stand it -- so I'm not going to look down at you."

L.A. Sheriff's Deputy Elton Simmons

/ CBS News

That's why, in lieu of a lecture, he gives most people the benefit of the doubt. Of course they still get the ticket, just not the guilt trip.

The drivers seem to appreciate that -- so much so that by the end, some are downright smitten.

"You know what it is, it's his smile," said driver Mike Viera, who just got a ticket. "He's got a great smile. He's a nice guy. How could you be mad at that guy?"

Apparently, you can't. Time after time, ticket after ticket, we saw Officer Simmons melt away a polar ice cap of preconceptions.

And his boss said there's a lesson in there for hard-nosed traffic cops everywhere.

"Their excuse is, 'Well, I give tickets all day long, I'm going to get complaints,'" said Maxwell. "Well, that's not true. There is a way to do it. And Elton Simmons is the way."

Certainly no complaints here.

To contact On the Road, or to send us a story idea, e-mail us.

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