LGBTQ community and law enforcement acceptance in California

Law Enforcement and the LGBTQ Community in Golden State

The relationship between the LGBTQ community and police department in Golden State borders on acceptance and non-acceptance. I, along with two other cadets, embarked on a journey of discovery -- crossing that border to see what it was that allowed some members of the LGBTQ community to regard police skeptically and why some officers, who are gay, felt the need to hide their identities. We spoke to several persons who experienced life on both sides of the issue -- from law enforcement officers who were either openly gay or still in hiding to openly gay members of the LGBTQ community. During our process of discovery, we heard testimonies, stories, reflections and anecdotes about what it means to be gay, what it means to be an officer, and what it means to be a human being. Overall, we realized that the acceptance of non-acceptance, which permeates the law enforcement community, is the main obstacle between the LGBTQ community and law enforcement. Once that hurdle is overcome, gays will feel more comfortable both within law enforcement and with officers policing their gay communities. This paper will describe what we learned from our interviews, our immersion into the LGBTQ community, the perceptions the community had of law enforcement. It will also identify resource agencies related to the LGBTQ that law enforcement can partner with and discuss what I learned from my experience -- specifically, how my ideas, beliefs and understanding of the LGBTQ have changed.

Interviews

Three interviews that I conducted revealed different stories with similar themes. The first interview I conducted was with a lesbian police officer who hid her identity for five years before publicly coming out at work. Her biggest fear was that she would be viewed as a lesbian before all else, and that this would factor in to whether or not should would be considered for promotions. She did not want her sexual/gender identity to be an issue for how she was judged at work. She wanted to be considered on performance -- not gender/sex politics. Her ultimate hope for the LGBT community was that LGBT persons could eventually be viewed as normal individuals, no different from anyone else.

My second interview was with a member of the LGBTQ community in Oakland. He was a civilian who embraced the opportunity to speak to us -- and who, in fact, essentially turned the interview around and made it more about us than it was about him. He wanted to know how we viewed our role as police officers and told us that we should act -- not react -- in situations. Action is based on having a set standard of principles and ideas prior to going into a situation, whereas reaction is more likely to be based on emotions and feelings. This individual was very open and cordial and was happy that we were taking an interest in his community. He viewed it as an opportunity to educate and inform the next generation of law enforcement officers about what it means to be LGBTQ -- and how they should not be viewed through the lens of bias.

My third interview was with the husband of a gay law enforcement officer. He told his story about coming up 20 years ago as a young man. He said that prior to his coming out, his father had expressed hostility towards gays, which made him fearful of coming out. However, once he did come out, his father was very understanding and supportive. When it came to discussing the relationship between law enforcement and the LGBTQ community, he said that he would like to see more community policing: he would love to see more interaction on the streets between officers and members of the community.

Immersion

I immersed myself into the LGBTQ world first by attending a Gay Police Officer Forum in the San Francisco Castro District, then by touring the same district and visiting a local corner bar (where drag queens were having a gathering), and finally by attending Oakland\'s LGBT Pride 2016 Festival. At the first stop -- the Forum -- I was deeply moved the stories the gay police officers told; the forum was confidential and some of the officers admitted that they were still in the closet because they feared reprisal. I was saddened by these confessions and felt that in the 21st century we should not be condemning others or acting prejudicial in any way. Touring the District I saw that the LGBTQ community was no different from any other community (they were more flamboyant clothing -- but residents were neither more nor less friendly than in any other place). At the bar, I felt some discomfort as I had never really been around drag queens before -- and one person asked if I was \"straight\" because someone there thought I was \"cute\" -- but when I replied that I was \"straight\" the individual went around and it was not a big deal. At the festival I was able to talk to many persons and get a real feel for how human everyone was.

Perceptions of Law Enforcement by LGBTQ

The perceptions by LGBTQ of law enforcement appear to be that law enforcement agencies are still mainly biased towards gay officers. Thus, the LGBTQ community would like to see a better relationship develop. The best way for this to happen is for the two to interact more so that prejudice is not fostered within the ranks of officers. Educating the upcoming generation and encouraging them to actually visit LGBTQ communities and engage with them is a good way for prejudice to be rooted out of law enforcement. Overall, the LGBTQ community is not hostile to law enforcement and would welcome them in the community (though some members hold antipathy to police as a result of past prejudice by police) -- they only ask that they in turn are welcomed in law enforcement.