Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Officer to face hearing
Transgender driver accuses cop
Shelby Kendall considers herself female, as does her doctor and the state of Florida.
But that wasn’t good enough for a Fort Lauderdale police officer who pulled her over in January and issued the transgender woman a ticket that identified her as male — even though her driver’s license lists her as female.
Now, Officer James Brinton faces a hearing Monday before the Citizens Police Review Board over the complaint Kendall filed after the incident.
“If I’ve done everything I need to do for the state of Florida to recognize me as a female, he doesn’t have a right to purposely mis-gender me,” Kendall, 48, said Friday. “It was inappropriate and kind of bullying and sends a message to the transgender community.”
Brinton told investigators he thought that the driver’s license information showing Kendall as female was a mistake.
When he asked Kendall why the driver’s license identified her as female, she told him she identified as female, according to the police investigation of Kendall’s complaint.
“Well, for the purposes of this citation, you’re a male,” Brinton told Kendall when he issued her the traffic citation, the report said.
Police investigators have recommended Brinton receive a letter of reprimand. The Citizens Police Review Board on Monday can endorse or object to the recommendation, with the final decision resting with the city manager.
More training about transgender issues should also be part of the police response to the incident, LGBT activist Michael Rajner said.
“What concerns me is that the officer felt it was not necessary for him to correct the [citation],” Rajner said. “He robbed that individual of her dignity.”
The encounter occurred about 5 p.m. Jan. 28, when Brinton said he noticed a black Chevrolet Camaro drag racing a Mustang, heading west on State Road 84, according to the police report.
Brinton told investigators that he followed the Camaro into a Winn-Dixie parking lot with his police lights on and then walked up to the parked car, driven by Kendall.
Kendall gave Brinton her license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance and the officer went back to his car to check the information, according to police.
Soon after, Kendall pulled her Camaro forward to let another driver pull out of a parking space she was blocking.
Brinton said he thought Kendall could have been trying to get away and the officer ran to the Camaro and ordered her out of the vehicle, the police report said.
Brinton handcuffed Kendall and searched her and the Camaro. Then, as Kendall was watched by a backup officer who had arrived at the scene, Brinton used his computer to prepare a citation, the report said.
Brinton’s computer took information scanned from Kendall’s license and automatically filled in portions of the citation. That included identifying Kendall as female, the police report said.
Brinton then changed the reckless driving citation to list Kendall as male. Brinton was asked by investigators why he didn’t re-write the ticket after Kendall said she identified as female. Brinton said he decided against it because the ticket was already saved and printed, according to the report.
Four days later, Kendall called police Internal Affairs to report her concerns about Brinton.
“I wasn’t really contesting why I was pulled over,” Kendall said.
“I was more contesting how I was treated.”
The police department acknowledged Friday that its procedure is to base identifications on a valid Florida driver’s license.
“The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is committed to the equal treatment of all of our neighbors and visitors,” Police Chief Rick Maglione said in a statement released Friday.
“Furthermore, we endeavor to take appropriate action if there are incidents discovered where it is alleged we veered from that position.
“I believe the department’s actions concerning the investigation before the Citizens’ Police Review Board clearly illustrates our commitment.”
Kendall, a real estate agent from Fort Lauderdale, said she started the process of transitioning to female in 2014.
In addition to undergoing physical changes, Kendall said she provided the state a letter from her doctor in order to have the “sex” designation on her driver’s license changed from male to female.
Kendall said the long process of surgeries and other difficulties involved in transitioning is hard enough and shouldn’t include getting “flack” from the police.
“You can turn a very small, minor detail into a very big deal,” Kendall said. “I wanted to see change in the department in case other people experience the same thing.”