The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
LGBTQ community, law enforcement explore relationship
NEW HAVEN » Officer David Hartman remembers how bar owners responded to his pitch to provide more uniformed officers in bars popular with the LGBTQ community.
“It wasn’t well-received,” Hartman said. “But we did it anyway. Not with the uniforms and not with marked cars, but we put detectives and officers in soft cars.”
Hartman serves as the department spokesperson and its LGBTQ liaison, a position that’s become commonplace among departments across the country and in other countries. He joined four other panelists during a discussion Wednesday at Gateway Community College focusing on how law enforcement and this growing community interact. The meeting was convened by Connecticut’s U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The meeting coincided with the anniversary of the start of the Stonewall riots, a landmark moment for the LGBTQ community’s civil rights movement started after a police raid at the gay bar New York.
While Hartman said New Haven police have taken steps to communicate with the LGBTQ community, audience members raised concerns about the varying experiences LGBTQ members can have with police. Hartman said these concerns are valid and should be addressed, which is one of the reasons the department has mandatory training for all its officers.
Panelist and True Colors Executive Director Robin P. McHaelen walked away from the panel and joined the audience after she said she couldn’t speak personally about the issues being discussed. After joining the audience, McHaelen continued to provide input from her work with LGBTQ youth, which her organization assists.
McHaelen also read a letter written primarily by Camille Seaberry, a local antipolice brutality activist, that was delivered on Wednesday by a friend. The letter was critical of police, requested more action to assist the community and referenced fears among people of color in the LGBTQ community.
“Rather than being pandered to by institutions that don’t have our liberation in mind, we build our own safety within our communities,” said McHaelen, reading from the letter. “We can’t afford to wait until a tragedy like Pulse, which most directly affected queer, trans, and genderqueer communities of color, before we begin taking care of each other.”
McHaelen pointed out LGBTQ youth are more likely to feel unsafe at school, miss school days due to fear and avoid school functions altogether.
“I don’t need to be teached, I need to be schooled,” McHaelen said.
Perhaps no one illustrated potential issues between police and LGBTQ communities more than Nadine Ruff. A transgender woman, Ruff said she had reported a sexual assault to New Haven police but was ridiculed. Ruff said the police response re-victimized her, which she said is an experience that’s too common.
“You need to know about this community,” Ruff said. “We fear police.”
Hartman said most often, reported crimes committed don’t necessarily have an element of anti-LGBTQ bias that would increase the offense to a hate crime. Hartman said a crime usually committed involving an LGBTQ person is not committed due to their sexual orientation or gender identification; this comment drew some disagreement among audience members, who pointed out that this may not always be easy to immediately assess.
Hartman added that it’s common for police officers not to know the necessary terminology for addressing LGBTQ members. He added this can be addressed through “polite” conversation between an officer and the person who may feel they’re being purposefully misidentified.
“It could be an unfamiliarity, not a bias,” Hartman said.
Panelist and FBI Special Agent Michael Butsch said most hate crimes begin with local law enforcement agencies. A majority of hate crimes do not rise to the level of federal hate crime charges, Butsch said.
However, even when federal prosecution isn’t pursued, Butsch said the agency makes a point to respond and notify the affected community.
“I think the experience that I’ve had is it’s incredibly impactful to let the community affected, to let them know they’re supported,” Butsch said.
Connecticut U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly made opening remarks Wednesday and said her office is committed to supporting the LGBTQ community. Daly alluded to last year’s nightclub shooting in Orlando as a tragic reminder of violence faced by LGBTQ community members. The shooting marked a one-year anniversary earlier this month. Inside the room where discussion took place, a table displayed an art installation by James Nocito commemorated the 49 victims of the shooting.
West Hartford police and department spokesman Lt. Eric Rocheleau said his department established what was likely the first in the state to create an LGBT policy. The policy was introduced in August and prompted several departments to contact West Hartford to help establish policies of their own, Rocheleau said. Hartman said New Haven has its own policy as well, but it’s more “fluid” and is constantly developing. West Hartford’s policy provides language that encourages officers to use correct terminology when interacting with LGBTQ community members. It addressed concerns including which officers would pat down an individual based on their gender identity and what holding cells transgender individuals would be placed.
“So many other departments eached out and said, ‘This is fantastic,’” Rocheleau said.
Most officers embraced the policy, which Rocheleau said helped provide clarity to possible confusion.
“It was a way for us to educate some of our officers,” Rocheleau said. “It’s a terrific tool for us.”