Appalling, If It's True

From the beginning of an AP story that hit the wires today:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A small-town police chief was accused in a federal lawsuit Thursday of stopping a would-be rescuer from performing CPR on a gay heart attack victim because he assumed the ailing man had HIV and posed a health risk.

Claude Green, 43, died June 21 after being stricken yards from City Hall in Welch, a community of about 2,400.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of his mother.

Of course, the "if it's true" qualifier above is absolutely key; the allegation may well be a boldfaced lie. One can only hope that's the case.