I took reports and provided resources.The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause protects “similarly situated individuals from being treated differently.” But that is exactly what happened to Will Walters when he was arrested for public nudity at the 2011 San Diego LGBT Pride celebration. I talked to people in the community who didn’t feel comfortable talking to a police officer on the street. Each Thursday night, I was at the Center from 7 to 9 p.m. We taught a class titled “Gay and Lesbian Population.” I also held regular hours at the Center over those four years, to build trust in the community. It wasn’t until years later that San Diego Police Special Events took over staffing the festival.Īs part of my liaison role, I taught classes at the Police Academy, along with the then-Center director, Karen Marshall. I was later granted permission to hire other officers who were LGBTQ to assist me working the festival. For the first two years, I worked the Pride festival as the only uniformed officer. During that time, I worked closely with the San Diego LBGT Community Center and with San Diego Pride. Those of us who were LGBTQ knew we were not really accepted.Īlthough San Diego police had a liaison to the LGBTQ community for many years, it was not someone who was part of the LGBTQ community until I became the liaison as a sergeant in 1998. This was commonplace behavior and accepted in law enforcement. Months later, I was called out by a watch commander for wearing the rainbow pin in uniform, even though it was approved. We were granted permission, and the rainbow flag was approved for wearing in uniform on the shirt pocket. SOLO asked to join those associations, including the Black Police Officers Association and the Latino Police Officers Association. There are several associations within the San Diego Police Department. I stand by the actions taken by San Diego Pride and the San Diego LGBT Community Center.
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As the four marched along the parade route, uniformed officers turned their backs to show they didn’t respect or support the officers in the parade.Ĭommunity voices project Zaneta Salde Encarnacion: ‘Good officers’ in a broken system haven’t stopped overpolicing of LGBTQ+ community The limousine represented those law enforcement officers who were afraid for their safety, should they be exposed as LGBTQ. In 1991, SDPD Officers John Graham and Rick Edgil, as well as El Cajon Police Officer Chuck Moreno and fired FBI Agent Frank Buttino, marched in the Pride Parade alongside a limousine with dark tinted windows. As John said at the time, “I thought it would be a one-day media event, but it was a continual process of coming out over years.” If he had chosen, John could have been viewed as heterosexual because of his looks and the uniform, but he wanted to be his true self.
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In 1990, SDPD Officer John Graham came out in a public way, with the full support of Chief Robert Burgreen. At the time, there were no openly LGBTQ officers in any Southern California police agency.
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I joined the San Diego Police Department in 1988.