Officer retires amid probe of online posts

Facebook posts appear to mock Biden’s new assistant health secretary, the country’s first openly transgender federal officeholder confirmed by the Senate

SAN JOSl >> A longtime San Jose Police Department veteran has retired amid an investigation into transphobic social-media posts mocking the Biden administration’s newly seated assistant secretary of health, who just became the nation’s first openly transgender Senate-confirmed federal official.

The Facebook posts linked to Sgt. Todd Cleaver were made in January, after Rachel Levine was first nominated by President Joe Biden, and quickly made their way to internal-affairs investigators at SJPD. Police sources told this news organization that as an IA investigation was underway, Cleaver faced reassignment to patrol — he had been in an administrative post supervising reserve officers — and instead opted to end his nearly three-decade career.

The posts, viewed in screenshots by this news organization, appear to attack Levine’s appearance and fitness as a health expert. One post crudely insults her gender identity by comparing her photo to one of former Surgeon General Jerome Adams — a cisgender man — while another implies through photos and text that Levine’s weight should be disqualifying to her serving as an assistant secretary of health.

“I’m really shocked to see this. There’s been a number of these across the country,” said Linda Simpson, a retired transgender Wyoming police officer and cofounder of the international advocacy organization Transgender Community of Police and Sheriffs.

“When they’re posting these kinds of things, they’re looking for validation and support, and it helps spread the poison throughout the agency.”

The posts associated with Cleaver come at a sensitive time for SJPD, which has over the years instituted measures to ingratiate itself with the LGBTQ community — including targeted hiring campaigns, raising the rainbow Pride flag at headquarters, and updating its duty manual to instruct officers to properly identify and accommo

date transgender people.

But the department has endured recent scrutiny after Julie Callahan, a retired transgender SJPD officer — and another co-founder of TCOPS — leveled transphobia accusations against newly appointed Police Chief Anthony Mata days before he was formally selected by City Manager Dave Sykes and confirmed unanimously by the City Council. Callahan told ABC7 in a March 15 report that Mata was hostile to her when she was transitioning two decades ago, a characterization that Mata denies.

Citing restrictions against commenting on personnel matters, when asked about the transphobic posts by this news organization, the Police Department initially would only confirm that an internal-affairs investigation was happening, and did not mention Cleaver by name.

That was followed by a second statement, released on behalf of Mata, that said, “We take all violations of city policy very seriously. This matter was brought to our attention over a month ago, and an investigation was launched. The individual under investigation has informed us of their intent to retire on March 26.”

Since the complaint about Cleaver’s posts were made in January, the IA probe would have to have been initiated under thenActing Chief David Tindall.

Cleaver could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts to contact him. He was not facing formal discipline when he chose to retire, as the internal investigation was still active.

Cleaver does have support in the department, including from Chuck Hill, a civilian supervisor and police instructor at SJPD who leads diversity training for the police academy. Hill was the first openly gay officer at the Memphis Police Department in the late 1990s, and retrained under Cleaver last decade when he returned to police work, in San Jose, after a midcareer change.

Hill lauded Cleaver for supporting him over the years but was careful to be clear that he does not condone the transphobic posts.

“He was concerned that after 30 years of supporting officers and being there to help whenever he was in a position to do so, he would be remembered for this, which breaks my heart,” Hill said.

That said, “this was 100 percent inappropriate and unacceptable,” he added.

Hill said that the response to Cleaver’s posts is reflective of broader needs to bring police departments into step with the rapidly changing demands of the moment.

“Obviously, there is still room for growth,” he said. “This is an example of what needs to be emphasized. You are accountable for everything you put on social media. You have to be above the fray. This can erode that public trust, and make it harder for the rest of us to do our jobs.”

Simpson said the polarized political climate in the country has slowed progress for broader acceptance and inclusion of transgender people, evidenced by backlash to Levine’s appointment. The frequent intersection of transphobia with racism and other prejudices adds another level of gravity, she said, to why conduct like that linked to Cleaver needs to be dealt with swiftly.

“I thought things were getting better. But it’s not. It has become a political issue in the last four or five years and it has been weaponized as a result of that,” Simpson said.

According to sources, SJPD employs about a halfdozen officers who have openly identified themselves as transgender. To Simpson, given the spotlight on the issue currently over the department, she and her fellow advocates will be watching the department closely.

“It really comes down to leadership not putting up with this,” she said. “Posting this stuff, it’s dangerous. It promotes dehumanizing a person, and leads to real-life consequences for people who are already isolated and ostracized. It goes far outside the police community.”