Milwaukee Police Under Fire for Withholding Gender to Avoid Offending LGBTQ
told local NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV that she approached department administration in May about a potential policy change following the misgendering of a crime victim who was transgender."We don't want to make a traumatic experience for a family worse," said Velasquez, who is also one of two department LGBTQ+ liaisons.When asked if misgendering transgender victims in the past has negatively affected the LGBTQ+ community, Velasquez said it did based on her own interactions and even led to an impasse between those advocates and the department due to a lack of "respect."Heather Hough, the MPD chief of staff, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the discussions were taking place behind the scenes spurred by conversations with the LGBTQ+ community amid a string of three Black transgender murders committed in a nine-month span.Media releases in each instance misgendered the victims."It's a way to preserve the dignity and privacy of all victims," Hough said, assuring that the media and public would continue to receive timely facts and information. "MPD wants to ensure the best service possible for our entire community."Newsweek reached out to Velasquez and MPD for additional comments.Juan Dominguez, a military veteran and Democratic candidate for U.S.
Senate in Maryland, told Newsweek via phone that he commends both the LGBTQ+ community for pressing law enforcement on the issues and the MPD itself for adapting and changing its processes to further embolden the relationship between officers and the community."In this case, we need to be overly protective of the families of these victims," Dominguez said. "They're already going through a tremendous amount of pain and sorrow, so why do further damage?"When asked whether law enforcement or the media and public should decide what is important in the relaying of such information, Dominguez said that is a valid concern but multiple positive actions can lead to appeasing everyone—including boosting law enforcement training for.
