64 DEMONSTRATORS ARRESTED IN PROTEST OF U.S. AIDS POLICY

DISTRICT POLICE WEAR RUBBER GLOVES

D.C. police wearing long yellow rubber gloves yesterday arrested 64 demonstrators, many of whom have AIDS, after the group blocked traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to protest the Reagan administration's AIDS policies.

The administration's policies were also the focus of protests at the Washington Hilton hotel, where more than 6,000 researchers have gathered for the Third International Conference on AIDS.

A number of participants booed Vice President Bush after he endorsed President Reagan's call for expanded AIDS testing. As he returned to his seat, Bush asked Assistant Health Secretary Robert E. Windom, "Who was that, some gay group out there?"

The remark, which was recorded by several news organizations, angered some of the researchers gathered for the largest international medical meeting on acquired immune deficiency syndrome yet held. "That's a new high in insensitivity," said Dr. Michael Gottlieb, a prominent Los Angeles immunologist. "We are here to battle a terrible plague. That is not what we need from our leaders."

The estimated 350 people who gathered at Lafayette Park in the wilting noon heat said they were protesting a lack of funding for AIDS research and the slow pace of federal education programs.

Led by Dan Bradley, former head of the Legal Services Corp. who has AIDS, the protesters were arrested after they scaled a concrete barricade in front of the White House and sat in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue chanting, "Testing is not a cure for AIDS" and "Reagan, Reagan, Too Little, Too Late."

One demonstrator, identified by police as Lorien Laureano, collapsed and was taken by ambulance to George Washington University Hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion. A police official said the demonstrators were charged with disorderly conduct and all were released several hours later after paying a $50 fine.

Among those arrested was Leonard P. Matlovich, a former Air Force sergeant who was expelled from the service in 1975 after admitting his homosexuality. He sued the Air Force, challenging its ban on homosexuals, and received $160,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

Matlovich, who recently learned he has AIDS, wore his old Air Force jacket decorated with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star and clutched a small American flag as police handcuffed him.

"If I can spend three years fighting for democracy in Vietnam, I can spend an hour in jail fighting for our lives," he said. "What we need is a Manhattan Project on AIDS, an all-out fight." He was referring to the group of scientists assembled by the U.S. government that developed the atomic bomb during World War II.

The protest, which began with a four-block march from a downtown church, past gaping tourists and construction workers, was sponsored by a coalition of AIDS groups whose members are attending the international conference.

Bradley led the march carrying a white and yellow floral wreath laced with a large black ribbon to commemorate the 20,000 Americans who have died of AIDS.

"I've been in bed for two days resting up for this," said Bradley, who is undergoing chemotherapy and often appeared to be in pain.

At an emotional rally in Lafayette Park he addressed the crowd, some of whom had visible lesions from Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer that affects some AIDS patients.

"I've lost a lot of friends and I'm sure the president has lost a lot of friends," Bradley said. "It's not just gay Americans who will die of AIDS."

"Our surgeon general and our doctors have issued incredible recommendations and plans of action," he said in a voice that occasionally quavered. "At least he {Reagan} ought to read the surgeon general's report."

Reagan was not the only target of the protesters' anger. Many expressed outrage that the D.C. police wore gloves, and chanted, "Take Off the Gloves" and "Only Sissies Wear Gloves."

Assistant police chief Isaac Fulwood Jr. said it is standard procedure for police officers to wear gloves when handling prisoners. "What we did was reasonable," said Fulwood, because some of those arrested have AIDS.

Dr. Reed V. Tuckson, the city's public health commissioner who was at the demonstration as an observer, said he told police officials that gloves are unnecessary during most routine arrests, because officers would not be exposed to blood or body fluids, which carry the AIDS virus.

At a meeting last week between police, Tuckson and march organizers, the health commissioner said that police promised they would "not do anything outside what they ordinarily do. They say this {wearing gloves} is standard operating procedure . . . . I am trusting the word of the police department."

Later in the day, about 300 demonstrators protested administration policies at the Washington Hilton.

Inside, some public health officials expressed concern about Reagan's call to expand routine testing to include prisoners, marriage license applicants, immigrants and those seeking treatment for drug abuse and sexually transmitted diseases.

While some said mass screening makes little sense because there is no effective treatment for the disease, others said they were pleased that Reagan, after years of silence, had addressed the issue.

"I think that {the protests} demonstrate both the significance of the problem and the intensity of the impact it has on those affected," said Dr. Gary Noble, AIDS coordinator for the Public Health Service.

Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who has opposed mandatory testing, said he supports Reagan's call for expanded routine testing, which he said means that those who don't want to be tested can opt out.

Staff writers Victoria Churchville and Larry Thompson contributed to this report.

Articles appear as they were originally printed in The Washington Post and may not include subsequent corrections.