Local
Officers, activists recognized at police liaison reception
LGBT community leaders point to ‘reinvigorated’ GLLU in DC
Assistant Chief Diane Groomes speaks to members of the community attending the Metropolitan Police Department Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit meet-and-greet event. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
More than a dozen LGBT community activists and the five officers assigned to the department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit were awarded by D.C. police officials with a certificate of appreciation Thursday night recognizing their service to community.
Capt. Edward Delgado and Sgts. Carlos Mejia and Matt Mahl, who serve as supervisors for the Dupont Circle headquartered GLLU, handed out the certificates at an open house reception. The event, hosted by the GLLU, attracted more than 50 people from the community and about a dozen police officers and police officials, including Deputy Police Chief Diane Groomes.
“Thank you on behalf of the chief,” said Groomes, referring to Police Chief Cathy Lanier, who was unable to attend the event.
“I know we aren’t perfect. We have a ways to go,” Groomes said. “But I think overall, with the support of the community, we’re definitely getting better every day. So I appreciate all of your support for us and I look forward to working with you.”
Groomes and Delgado told the Blade that Sgt. Mahl, who had been detailed earlier this year to serve as the GLLU’s full-time supervisor, was temporarily assigned earlier this month to a special police robbery unit in response to an upsurge in robberies throughout the city, including “snatch-and-grab” cell phone robberies.
Mahl had worked on robbery investigations prior to his assignment with the GLLU.
The two said Mahl, who is gay, would be returning shortly to the GLLU where he will resume his duties as supervisor.
LGBT activists, including officials with the local group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV), have expressed concern that Chief Lanier several years ago placed the GLLU under the supervision of a sergeant — Mejia — who also headed the Latino Liaison Unit, requiring that he divide his time between two important units.
While praising Mejia for doing an excellent job in juggling his time between the two units, a number of LGBT activists called on Lanier to assign a sergeant as the full-time supervisor of the GLLU. Lanier has said limited MPD resources prevented her from doing that until earlier this year, when she said she was able to detail Sgt. Mahl to head the unit.
In response to Groomes’ remarks, gay activist Peter Rosenstein told the GLLU reception that he has seen an improvement in both the GLLU’s work and the department’s overall response to LGBT community concerns over the past year or so.
“I speak personally but I think for a lot of the community,” Rosenstein said. “We appreciate under this mayor and under your direction and under the unit’s direction that there is a reinvigorated look at what’s going on in the LGBT community and once again a reinvigorated GLLU.”
Rosenstein added, “As you well know, there was a period of time when the community felt the attention wasn’t being given to the community. But I think most of us now believe that there is a new effort to get together, to work together to make the city a safer place to be. So thank you all from the community for what you all do.”
A.J. Singletary, the head of GLOV, and Ruby Corado, the transgender activist who operates an LGBT community center with an outreach to the Latino community, said they, too, have seen an improvement in the department’s and GLLU’s activities and communication with the LGBT community.
The current full-time GLLU members stationed at the GLLU headquarters office are Officers Joseph Morquecho, Zunnobia Hakir, Juanita Foreman, Kevin Johnson and Justin Markiewicz.
Among the community activists receiving the police certificate of appreciation were Jason Terry of the D.C. Trans Coalition; Earline Budd, Jeri Hughes and Brian Watson of Transgender Health Empowerment (THE); Singletary of GLOV; Corado of Casa Ruby community center; June Crenshaw of Rainbow Response; and Savannah Wanzer of the Mayor’s LGBT Advisory Committee.
According to the MPD website, 91 officers assigned to one of the department’s seven police districts serve as part-time affiliate members of the GLLU. The affiliate program, created by Lanier, provides training officers assigned to the police districts to enable them to respond to calls on matters related to the GLLU in locations throughout the city.
In addition to the GLLU, the Special Liaison Division includes the Asian Liaison Unit, the Latino Liaison Unit and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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