New Orleans — “Ann” said she was walking to a friend’s house on Tulane Avenue in September when a New Orleans police officer stopped her for no real reason and asked for her identification. By the end of their interaction, she was in handcuffs, booked with crimes against nature and verbally abused by a local judge. “Ann” said her only crime was being a young, black transgender girl.If this is how the NOPD officers spend (waste) their time in the murder capital of the country, then their priorities are in serious disarray. No wonder the department will be under a years-long consent decree order by the US Department of Justice due to "a history of discriminatory policing on the basis of race, ethnicity and sexual status."
Like others, she was too afraid to tell her story in public or use her real name. Instead, a friend read her testimony before the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday. Her presentation was one of several the committee heard — directly or indirectly — from members of the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community.
New Orleans has always been a city of great diversity, and it is unconscionable that the department is guilty of discriminatory behavior in its approach to policing in a city in so great need of a well-functioning police department that treats all citizens fairly. And for heaven's sake, the police should concentrate their efforts on finding the murderers and perpetrators of violence who make living in certain areas of the city like living in a war zone.
Kudos to Wes Ware, director of BreakOut, "an organization that seeks to end what it calls the criminalization of LGBTQ youth in New Orleans" and the members of the organization and to the Justice Department for their efforts to bring about fair and equal treatment by NOPD of all the citizens of New Orleans.
When I was in New Orleans for meetings I flew my (then) 11 or 12 year old nephew down so he could see it and ride back with me. There were many transgendered people on the streets. All of them going about their business not bothering anyone. Later I asked him if he knew that the woman who had answered my question on the tour group we were all on (Oak Alley) was born a man. He said he could tell and it obviously was not something that phased him. What a neat kid and now at 30 he has grown into a wonderful young man. I wish we had more like him.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wise young man at such an early age, Jay. For some, it's difficult to get past the urge to place people in categories and then proceed to label them as acceptable...or not.
ReplyDeleteThe police should know better, surely? ... Is the "crimes against nature" charge often (mis)used? I looked it up and it appears to be a homophobic thing in origin. I see it covers a range of possibilities (ie is vague) but being transgender and African American are distinctly not among them.
ReplyDeleteCathy, it is a homophobic thing, but it is also a catch-all excuse for police to harass "suspicious" people, meaning people who are different.
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