Who’s Watching Whom?

David Jones, 49, likes living at the Colorado Place Apartments in Oak Cliff, but says the Minuteman Security Company officers stationed there follow him at night and harass him because he’s gay. “They screech their tires outside my window and shine their lights into my room,” he says.

When the apartment manager ignored him, Jones says, he complained to the Zoning Board that Minuteman was illegally officing in a multi-family dwelling. Minuteman has since moved to a Jefferson street location, says Walt Roberts, a company spokesman, but he acknowledges that officers still frequent the apartments “to use the bathroom and write reports.” He suspects Jones reported Minuteman, but insists its officers are not har-rassing him. ’The lights and noises,” he says, “are coming from Fort Worth Avenue.”

Jones has fought back by carrying protest placards. “Three of them ordered me to stop, but I was exercising my constitutional rights.” According to Jones, one said, “If you get hit on the head tonight, don’t call security.”

Russell Westerfield, who owns Colorado Place, says area crime is down since he added the $4000-a-month security, and believes most of his tenants appreciate having seven Minutemen as tenants. He denies that the business was headquartered there or that its officers harrassed Jones. “There was too much revving of engines and other noise from the officers, but I told Mr. Jones the noise would cease and it has.”

Jones says this dispute has prompted him to “come out1’ publicly and to fight back. “You’ve heard of the tooth fairy,” he says, “and you’ve heard of the good fairy. Well. I’m the last fairy you ever want to mess with-and I’m here to stay.”