News & Resources: Police Harassment of Transgender People

1. Deadly Violence Against Transgender People is on the Rise – ALCU (Aug. 2018)
The American Civil Liberties Union investigates the injustices that burden everyday life for trans people, and offers evidence that mistreatment by police is increasing.
https://www.aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/criminal-justice-reform-lgbt-people/deadly-violence-against-transgender-people-rise

2. Deadnamed – ProPublica (Aug. 2018)
Is “deadnaming” a hate crime? ProPublica discusses the reasons behind the transgender community’s lack of trust in police, zeroing in on the common practice of referring to trans persons who come in contact with law enforcement by their birth names instead their chosen names.
https://www.propublica.org/article/deadnamed-transgender-black-women-murders-jacksonville-police-investigation

3. SF Police Commission to Consider Policy for Interactions with Trans Suspects (Oct. 2018)
San Francisco police consider changing current interaction protocols with regard to transgender and non-gender conforming folk.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Police-Commission-To-Consider-Policy-For-13279198.php

4. Violence Against Transgender People is on the Rise, Advocates Say …New York Times (Nov. 2017)
… despite the progress that has been made in the years leading up to 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/us/transgender-women-killed.html

5. Taking Freedom: Reclaiming Our Lineage … Transgender Resistance to Police Violence – Pacific Standard (April 2018)
How activism is making a difference.
https://psmag.com/social-justice/taking-freedom-claiming-our-lineage

6. Transgender Rights in WisconsinWisconsin Lawyer (March 2018)
“Reaching nationally and focusing on Wisconsin, this article surveys the current and evolving state of the law – constitutional, statutory, and common; federal, state, and local – on various issues that uniquely affect transgender individuals.”
https://www.wisbar.org/NewsPublications/WisconsinLawyer/Pages/Article.aspx?Volume=91&Issue=3&ArticleID=26213

7. Alleged police harassment in Gary, Indiana –Chicago Tribune, (Sept. 2018)
In federal lawsuit, trans woman alleges she was harassed while using bathroom at the Gary police department.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-gary-transgender-lawsuit-st-0913-story.html

8. A Tough Path for Gay and Trans MigrantsNew York Times (July 2018)
Transgender and gay migrants in the U.S. face extra risks. The article highlights one individual’s story: a Salvadoran trans woman, Jade Quintanilla.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/us/lgbt-migrants-abuse.html

9. Police Violence is an LGBT community concern – SF Gate (June 2018)
Only 50 percent of LGBT people of color believe the police would help them if in danger. California bill AB931 dictates that police should not fatally wound someone when deadly force alternatives exist.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Police-violence-is-an-LGBTQI-community-concern-13000367.php

10. Activists Say Police Abuse of Trans People PersistsNew York Times (Sept. 2015)
“Although the New York Police Department amended its patrol guide in 2012 to require respectful treatment of transgender people,” this article recounts the experiences of a transgender woman who says “she was subjected to a strip search by a male officer. Two other officers watched from a few feet away, gawking as she spread her legs.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/07/nyregion/activists-say-police-abuse-of-transgender-people-persists-despite-reforms.html