Ask and Officer

[Wendy_Marie]

A recent and on going thread gone off topic... ended up being largely about many of our experiences involving Law Enforcement Officers (LEO)...

I have also noticed even in the TG Support Group I attend this subject comes up frequently as well and I decided that I was going to reach out to my Local Police Department here in my city to see about perhaps having a Community Services Police Officer come in and speak to our group during our weekly support Group Meeting....it's amazing that while we have a fairly active Transgender communtiy here...very few people even like minded Transfolk know we exist.

I still have to obtain permission from the person who runs my group before I begin making all the necessary contacts and arrangements...so I wanted to come up with a list of pertinent questions which I felt needed to be addressed and would provide answers towards improving the perception many have about LEO...and the Trans community.

The typical questions regarding Legalities, Rest Room Usage, I.D.'s and how best to interact with officers at lets say a DWI Check Point/Traffic Stop would be at the top of said lists. The dreaded Pro-Noun usage questions as well as perhaps How might we expect to be treated if we were detained/arrested for whatever reason? etc...you get the idea!

I also want to address the procedures for filing a complaint regarding Harrassment, Discrimination and Hate Crimes etc...and maybe even obtain help in identifying resources and how we might improve public perception for the TG Community in my town.

Am I wasting my time here or does anyone else think that such a Question and Answer session would be beneficial to you. to us and to our community?

I would really love to hear what questions you might ask your own Local Law Enforcement if the oppurtunity arose? as I will entertain any and all intelligent questions for inclusion in my initial contact with the Local Police Department.

[pinto]

As an active chief of a police station in my country i like this idea. It's good to talk about this subject. I know that officers get quite confused when dealing with CD/TS/TG etc. Its always the same if you get confronted with people that don't match the common standard - do I tell that i recognize, do i ask questions, do i ignore, what is best. Some explaining words about what crossdressers expect would be appreciated. Also what the officers do expect.

I will think about this topic and tell my thoughts about it.

Officers visit schools, kindergarten and nursing homes because these clients belong to a group that causes/suffers problems. It may be because of the lack of understanding in traffic behaviour, because they may become easy victims in traffic or crime etc. etc. All this indicates a kind of prevention. As i know crossdressers don't belong to a special "endangered" group of society so it will be not easy to draw police's attention towards your group. I can imagine the officer sent to your by the chief will be a subject of mockery to his colleagues: "so, will you wear a skirt when you go the ladies?"
Nevertheless i think it will be an interesting subject. "How should CD'ers and officers too behave when getting in contact?" A CD'er is disguised concerning his/her status in the ID. A disguise is always suspicious for the police. Make them understand that not all disguises are suspicious and evil. Make them understand that a crossdressed person would like to be adressed as the gender they are representing right now. It's not easy but its worth an effort.
There is some kind of discrimination against gay people and CD'ers are counted to it. So why not ask the police what advices they have for the gay society?

Concerning your question about how to be treated when detained: you will be treated like the gender that is written in your ID, the police does not have any other chance, they need to respect the official gender.
At the first contact with an officer i suggest to explain in one sentence that you are a CD. Maybe not nice but in my opinion absolutely necessary in order to avoid confusion and even worse.

Kelliann wrote in another thread that she knows of transitioned police officers. So the best thing that could happen was to get contact to such an officer because she knows best and could give many advices for both sides.

[Leslie Langford]

I applaud your initiative, Wendy_Marie, and the more we have such amicable "close (clothes? ) encounters of the third kind" with law enforcement officers and are able to demonstrate that we are just like everyone else except for our peculiar crossdressing quirk, the more we are able to build bridges and break down the barriers of intolerance and misunderstanding.

That said, by all means share with us whatever insights you gain from this planned speaking engagement, and it will certainly be useful information in general terms. Problem is, though - specific laws do differ in different jurisdictions, so we all need to be aware of that. For example, where I live, using a credit card made out in our "femme" name would technically be considered fraud, even if it is linked to our male account, and regular payments are being made as prescribed. My sense from other posts that I have read here is that this might not be the same case everywhere, and that banks in other jurisdictions might provide more latitude in this respect.

[Wendy W]

As a Security Administrator at a Regional hospital, I am actually doing the opposite. I have scheduled meetings with the local LGBT groups to get a perspective of what the community wants us to know about the "other side." In turn, this knowledge will be taught to our Security Officers, so they will have an open minded opinion and treat the patient as a patient and not consider what gender the patient presents. As a C/D, I will certainly make it a main topic; as MA is already a G/L marriage approved State and I won't need to elaborate too much on the L/G/B subject. But the Transgender portion is still in the dark.

But do let us know Wendy-Marie of any results. This is truly a proactive approach for all of us. Thanks for taking the initiative.

Wendy W

[Phoebe]

Program director at a Tri-Ess meeting invited the local police to a meeting to give a talk. He must have done some research as was pretty well informed about who and what crossdressers are. The question came up that he did not include in his talk was is it legal for a male to drive a vehicle while appearing female. His answer was 'no not in Minnesota is driving in female attire illegal' with two additional remarks. Unless one is using the female appearance as a cover up to commit a crime. If your arrested for any possible felony crime suspicion or DUI you will go to male lock up in jail.

A recent and on going thread gone off topic... ended up being largely about many of our experiences involving Law Enforcement Officers (LEO)...

I have also noticed even in the TG Support Group I attend this subject comes up frequently as well and I decided that I was going to reach out to my Local Police Department here in my city to see about perhaps having a Community Services Police Officer come in and speak to our group during our weekly support Group Meeting....it's amazing that while we have a fairly active Transgender communtiy here...very few people even like minded Transfolk know we exist.

I still have to obtain permission from the person who runs my group before I begin making all the necessary contacts and arrangements...so I wanted to come up with a list of pertinent questions which I felt needed to be addressed and would provide answers towards improving the perception many have about LEO...and the Trans community.

The typical questions regarding Legalities, Rest Room Usage, I.D.'s and how best to interact with officers at lets say a DWI Check Point/Traffic Stop would be at the top of said lists. The dreaded Pro-Noun usage questions as well as perhaps How might we expect to be treated if we were detained/arrested for whatever reason? etc...you get the idea!

I also want to address the procedures for filing a complaint regarding Harrassment, Discrimination and Hate Crimes etc...and maybe even obtain help in identifying resources and how we might improve public perception for the TG Community in my town.

Am I wasting my time here or does anyone else think that such a Question and Answer session would be beneficial to you. to us and to our community?

I would really love to hear what questions you might ask your own Local Law Enforcement if the oppurtunity arose? as I will entertain any and all intelligent questions for inclusion in my initial contact with the Local Police Department.

[GeorgiaHall]

What a great topic to discuss and get the information out to others. I'd also like to see information on how to deal with flying and TSA....

[Cynthia Anne]

I think you have a very positive and great idea here Wendy Marie! I would love to be there when and if this takes place! Hugs!

[Wendy_Marie]

I have already received a positive response back from the Officer of the Patrol Division responsible for the area of town where the TG Support Group is held...He welcomes the chance to speak to the group...Now I just have to gain permission from the leader of this group and the members who attend it regularly.

Thanks for the positive replies thus far...

[LeannL]

Wendy Marie,

I know of several groups that have done this with very positive outcomes. I would caution about asking a blunt question about how to file a complaint about an officer. That is very confrontational and you are trying to form a partnership not a fistfight. IF the question needs to be asked, I would put in the form of, "If I am interacting with an officer and I feel that I am not being treated with the respect I should be based upon my transgendered nature, what should I do?" This will allow your officer to explain both the short term and long term response without you being confrontational.

At some time, you should offer to come to the police (with reinforcements like a local therapist that is working with someone in the group with the transgendered challenges) and explain about our community. Starting up a dialog, especially with commanding officers actively and positively participating, is the best way to make the interaction with the police a positive one for the community.

Best of luck,

Leann

[TGMarla]

Frankly, I think such a Q and A session would be a wonderful thing. This way, transgender people can be assured of what they risk when it comes to the law, and police officers can experience what a really law-abiding tame group we really are. I would embrace such an opportunity.

[Wendy_Marie]

Wendy Marie,

I would caution about asking a blunt question about how to file a complaint about an officer. Leann

LeAnn, just an FYI...I didn't mean to imply that I was looking for filing complaints against officers...If thats how it seemed then I apologize...I am speaking of the public in general...for my own part I have had nothing but good interactions with LEO's and this thought never even crossed my mind.