Local
Report critical of D.C. police response to hate crimes
Gay liaison unit’s ability to fight hate crimes ‘weakened’ by changes


D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier (Washington Blade photo by Strother Gaines)
The restructuring of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2009 “weakened its effectiveness in responding to hate crimes” and hindered its ability to reach out to the LGBT community, according to a newly released report.
The 41-page Hate Crimes Assessment Report was prepared by an independent task force created in 2012 by the Anti-Defamation League of Washington, a nationally recognized civil rights group, at the request of D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier.
In announcing the launching of the task force, Lanier said she asked the ADL to assist the MPD by conducting an impartial review of its programs directed toward the LGBT community, comparing them with other police departments and identifying areas that could be improved.
“MPD policies on the identification and handling of bias or hate crimes are strong and reflect many best practices of law enforcement agencies nationally,” the report concludes.
It also concludes that the “vast majority” of MPD leaders and rank and file officers have a deep commitment to “ensuring the safety and security of the LGBT community and to all of those who live, work, or visit the District of Columbia.”
But the report says a series of structural changes that the department put in place for the GLLU beginning in 2009, which were aimed at expanding the reach of the unit throughout the city, appear to have weakened its effectiveness and diminished its credibility within the LGBT community.
“MPD’s outreach to the LGBT community, which is a critical component of preventing and responding to hate crimes, is significantly less visible and effective than it was prior to the restructuring,” the report says.
“The restructuring of the GLLU reduced the size and limited the role of the central core of the GLLU, weakened its effectiveness in responding to hate crimes and engaging in outreach, and made it less accessible and visible to the LGBT community,” says the report.
“The GLLU’s reduced visibility and presence in the LGBT community has significantly impacted the level of trust the LGBT community has in MPD,” it says.
Former Police Chief Charles Ramsey created the GLLU along with separate liaison units working with the Latino, Asian, and deaf and hard of hearing communities in the late 1990s. Unlike police liaison units in other cities, whose responsibilities were limited mostly to public relations and educational duties, Ramsey arranged for the GLLU and the other units to investigate crimes and make arrests.
Under the leadership of its former commander, Sgt. Brett Parson, the GLLU developed strong ties to the LGBT community, assigning its officers to attend LGBT events and meetings and to patrol neighborhoods with high concentrations of LGBT residents. Although the officers were based in the GLLU headquarters in Dupont Circle, they responded to calls throughout the city and played an active role in investigating crimes targeting LGBT people, including hate crimes.
Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government recognized the GLLU as a highly effective agent for community policing and awarded the unit a grant to expand its work and assist police departments in other cities set up similar units.
In 2009, two years after then Mayor Adrian Fenty appointed her, Lanier put in place a restructuring plan that, among other things, decentralized the GLLU and the other liaison units through the creation of an affiliate officers program that placed affiliate liaison unit members in each of the seven police districts. The restructuring included downsizing the central GLLU office.
LGBT activists, who said they had no objections to the creation of the affiliate program, expressed strong opposition to what they said was an initial plan by Lanier to close the GLLU’s headquarters office. Activists said at the time that the affiliate officers, who were to receive limited training on LGBT related issues, would not have the experience and depth of understanding of the LGBT community that the core GLLU officers, most of whom were gay or lesbian, had.
Lanier quickly backed down from her initial plan to disband the headquarters unit after opposition surfaced from members of the City Council. However, according to activists, she appeared to be gradually decreasing the core unit’s size.
A short time after the restructuring began, Parson requested and was given a transfer out of the unit to patrol duties. Citing budget constraints, the department replaced Parson with a sergeant who was assigned to supervise both the GLLU and the Latino Liaison Unit.
LGBT representatives said the lack of a full-time supervisor for the GLLU was a further indication that the chief was diminishing the ability of the GLLU to carry out its mission.
Other changes associated with the restructuring included restrictions on the types of events or meetings GLLU officers could attend and what appeared to critics as an increase in the frequency that GLLU officers were detailed to other assignments unrelated to the LGBT community.
Lanier has said that due to police personnel limitations, officers from various specialized units would be temporarily detailed to other, street patrol duties as needed.
In a series of recommendations, the Hate Crimes Assessment Report calls on the department to appoint a full-time supervisor of the GLLU and to ensure that the GLLU’s core unit is sufficiently staffed with officers.
In an 8-page response to the task force report, Lanier said she and the department’s leadership agree with most of the conclusions and recommendations of the report.
“Admittedly, some of this is difficult for me to read as it clearly details where the Department has fallen short in our goal to foster strong relationships with our great and diverse communities that enable us to jointly combat the scourge of crimes motivated by hate or bias,” Lanier said in a statement accompanying the report.
“Nonetheless, I strongly support the recommendations of the Task Force, and the Department will be working to implement them,” she said.
Among other things, Lanier said the department agrees with the report’s finding that neither the GLLU nor its affiliate officers “have the visibility in the community that is our goal, and we must improve that.”
She added, however, that it became clear from the report and meetings MPD officials had with the task force that some members of the LGBT community have “expectations” that the MPD cannot meet.
“While we value a strong relationship with the LGBT community, we are also responsible for being sound stewards of public resources,” she said in her response. “Members of the GLLU had attended events in the past that we have determined are inappropriate for police officers on-duty, including bar crawls, book clubs, and certain events in Leather Week,” according to Lanier.
“That said, we believe there are plenty of opportunities for MPD – GLLU as well as its affiliates – to strengthen outreach with the community,” she said.
In her response to the report, Lanier said Sgt. Matthew Mahl, who had been detailed to serve as the GLLU’s supervisor for over a year, “has been assigned to oversee GLLU exclusively since November 2013.” She added that Mahl “is a good fit for the GLLU and its next stage of development.”
In another finding, the report says there is a belief in the LGBT community that “homophobia and transphobia are widespread within MPD, with several describing it as rampant.”
Interviews with members of the community revealed that the hostility toward transgender people, especially transgender women of color, is common among many MPD officers, the report says.
“Virtually every transgender person who spoke to us at the four community meetings reported that they had been harassed or mistreated because of their gender identity or expression, ranging from acts of ignorance and insensitivity to outright hostility and overt expressions of bigotry and harassment,” the report says.
In citing hate crimes data released by the MPD, the report notes that hate crimes targeting the LGBT community make up the highest percentage of hate crimes compared to other categories of victims, such as race, ethnicity, religion, or disability. In 2012, the most recently year for which full data is available, there were 46 reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation, comprising 57 percent of a total of 81 hate crimes for all categories.
Police data show there were 9 hate crimes reported in 2012 based on gender identity or expression.
The report doesn’t say how many cases of anti-LGBT hate crimes resulted in an arrest by police or how many of the cases remain unsolved.
“It remains unclear whether the reported increase [in anti-LGBT hate crimes] reflects an actual higher level of hate violence directed against the LGBT community, better reporting by LGBT victims, or the lack of reporting by victims in other categories,” the report says.
The task force members who wrote the report are: David Friedman, Sophie Dornstreich, Michael Liberman – Anti-Defamation League; Sara Warbelow – Human Rights Campaign; Lisa Bornstein – Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Mara Keisling and Vincent Paolo Villano – National Center for Transgender Equality; Jack McDevitt, Associate Dean and Director of the Institute of Race and Justice, Northeastern University in Boston; and Jim Nolan, Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology, West Virginia University in Morgantown.
“We welcome the recommendations in the ADL report,” said Hassan Naveed, co-chair of Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV). “GLOV and other LGBT organizations plan to issue a community response to the recommendations in the next two weeks.”
The full report along with Lanier’s response can be seen here: http://mpdc.dc.gov/

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Ryan Levi on assuming the presidency of the D.C. chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (DCNLGJA).
“I’m incredibly excited to take on this new leadership role with an organization full of incredible journalists,” Levi said. “In these uncertain and challenging times for many in our queer and trans community, I hope NLGJA can continue to be a space for queer and trans D.C. journalists to connect with their peers, find support, grow in their careers, and build community.”
Levi’s background includes being a reporter and producer with Tradeoffs Washington, D.C., where he reported and produced podcast episodes for the national nonprofit health policy news organization. Topics included ransomware attacks on hospitals, bias and AI in health care, and bringing Medicaid to incarcerated people. He was the lead reporter on The Fifth Branch, a special three-part series on mental health crisis response. His reporting was featured on NPR, PBS NewsHour, The Marshall Project, and Slate. He was a producer for KQED News, San Francisco, where he reported and produced sound-rich feature stories, developed, and executed engagement strategy, provided editorial feedback, and mixed pieces for the weekly Bay Curious podcast. Before that he was a producer and reporter at KBIA News in Columbia, Missouri.
Levi earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, College of Arts and Science. He has won numerous honors and recognition for his work, including: Region 2 Edward R. Murrow Best News Series award for Three Refugees, Three Journeys to California; and second place 2017 Hearst Journalism Awards Radio Competition (reporter).
District of Columbia
LGBTQ-friendly senior living community to open near Dupont Circle
Luxury assisted living apartments located in the former Fairfax Hotel

An upscale senior and assisted living apartment building located two blocks from Dupont Circle, which is scheduled to hold a grand opening ceremony on Feb. 12, has announced it is “LGBTQ+ friendly.”
A statement released by the new seniors home, called the Inspir Embassy Row, located at 2100 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., says it is proud to have received recognition as a SAGECare Platinum Credentialed Provider from the New York City-based LGBTQ seniors advocacy and training group SAGE.
“To earn this prestigious credential, a minimum of 80 percent of Inspir’s management and non-management staff completed comprehensive training in LGBTQ+ aging cultural competency,” the statement says.
“The program covered crucial topics including historical and contemporary LGBTQ+ struggles, proper terminology usage related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and strategies to address the unique challenges faced by this demographic,” according to the statement sent to the Washington Blade.
Inspir Embassy Row’s general manager, Tim Cox, who is gay and said he lives with his husband just five blocks from the soon to open facility, provided the Washington Blade with a tour of the senior living building. He said it includes 174 apartments, including studio apartments and one and two-bedroom apartments.

Residents have signed up for about 45 of the apartments so far, Cox said, including some LGBTQ residents, who will begin moving in on Feb. 18. He said the upscale building is open to seniors who currently do not need assisted living services as well as those who need different levels of care, including memory loss care.
He said a doctor and nurse practitioner will be among the staff team providing services for residents. Although most of the apartments have a kitchenette with a refrigerator and microwave but no cooktop and a limited number have full kitchens, Cox said three meals a day will be served in the building’s large, first floor dining room. The building also includes common areas with spaces for entertainment such as the showing of movies and a large grand piano for visiting performers.
“At Inspir Embassy Row, we’re dedicated to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of our residents,” Cox said in the statement released by the building, which is the former home of the Fairfax Hotel.

“This SAGECare certification is a testament to our commitment to providing personalized, compassionate care that respects and honors the identities and experiences of all our residents, including those in the LGBTQ+ community,” Cox said.
He added, “Our goal is to create a home where every resident feels valued, respected and free to be themselves. The SAGECare certification is just the beginning of our journey to set a new standard for inclusive senior living in Washington, D.C.”
But the monthly rent for residents of Inspir Embassy Row will likely place it out of reach for many potential senior residents. Cox said the monthly rent for a one-room studio apartment is $8,100, with the monthly cost of a one-bedroom apartment ranging from $11,500 to about $15,000. A two-bedroom apartment will cost $18,500 per month.
Some of those costs will be covered for residents who have long-term care insurance, Cox said.
Asked if potential residents who can afford the monthly costs at Inspir Embassy Row would be better off staying in their own homes and hiring staff and others to comfortably assist them, Cox said Inspir provides far more than just meals and a place to stay.

When remaining at your own home “you’re isolated, you’re lonely, you don’t have activities,” he said. “When you have people coming to care for you, they’re not there as companions,” Cox said. “So, for this, we give them opportunities. We take them to the Kennedy Center. We have music here on a daily basis.”
Cox added, “We have authors come in. We have speakers that are renowned coming in. Since we’re on Embassy Row, we’ll have ambassadors come in to introduce their country. So, really it is being able to get to know our community better and being social, interactive.”
The statement released by Inspir Embassy Row says the facility will provide “LGBTQ+ specific activities, events, or support groups to allow residents the opportunity to share similar experiences with other residents,” and there will be “partnerships with local LGBTQ+ organizations.”

District of Columbia
Officials praise D.C. Office of LGBTQ Affairs, raise concern over funding delays
Leaders of local advocacy groups testify at Council oversight hearing

Officials with five local LGBTQ community organizations and officials with another four groups that also provide services for LGBTQ D.C. residents testified before a D.C. Council performance oversight hearing on Jan. 30 that examined the work of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
The hearing, which also examined the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs and Office of Religious Affairs, was called by D.C Council member Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1) in her role as chair of the Council’s Committee on Public Works and Operations.
Nearly all the witnesses praised what they called the LGBTQ Affairs Office’s longstanding support for the D.C. LGBTQ community through a wide range of services and programs and what they called the “dedicated” work of its director, Japer Bowles.
Officials with at least four of the LGBTQ organizations, including the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition and the LGBTQ youth advisory group SMYAL, expressed concern over what they called long delays in funding from grants awarded to LGBTQ and LGBTQ supportive groups by the Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
Several of the witnesses, including Kimberley Bush, executive director of the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, who submitted written testimony, said the funding delays were being caused by other D.C. government agencies that administer city grant programs.
Bush stated that the delays in funding for the LGBTQ+ Community Center for a $50,000 Community Development Grant and a $50,000 Violence Prevention and Response Team (VPART) Grant, “by no fault” of the LGBTQ Affairs Office, “caused extraordinary and substantial financial strain on our cash flow.”
Heidi Ellis, coordinator of the D.C. LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, raised a related issue of concern that the mayor’s office, based on “shifting priorities,” sometimes significantly lowers the level of grant funds from the Office of LGBTQ Affairs to community-based LGBTQ grant recipients.
Ellis and other witnesses at the hearing referred to this as “yo-yo funding and shifting of mayoral priorities” that they said makes it difficult for LGBTQ groups receiving city grants to continue their programs and services.
In his own testimony, and in response to questions from Nadeau and D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), who is the Council’s only gay member, LGBTQ Affairs Office Director Bowles said some of the delays in grant payments were due to a vacancy in the office staff position that administers the grants, which he said has now been filled.
Among other things, Bowles said the complexity of the grant approval process, which he said involves “different layers of funding decisions” by other D.C. government offices, also has caused some delays. He said that despite what he called some of his office’s challenges, the office continues to expand its role in supporting the local LGBTQ community.
“With Mayor Bowser’s leadership and support, I’m proud to have led efforts that transformed the office,” he stated in his testimony. “We secured the bid for WorldPride 2025, expanded our grant programs from $75,000 to over $6 million, revamped our community engagement strategy, and much more,” he said.
“These changes have had a direct impact on addressing public safety concerns and providing housing and support to vulnerable residents,” he added. According to Bowles, his office’s LGBTQIA+ Community Development Grant program saw a record expansion in fiscal year 2024, with more than $1 million awarded to 29 community-based organizations. (The Washington Blade has been a recipient of a grant that funds a journalism fellow who reports on local LGBTQ community news.)
“These grants support a wide range of LGBTQIA+ dedicated initiatives, including mental health counseling, youth leadership, and arts and culture projects,” he said. “As part of our broader advocacy efforts, we secured funding for the Violence Prevention and Response Team, which provides trauma-informed legal and counseling services to survivors of hate-based incidents.”
Among the LGBTQ officials who praised Bowles’s work and the LGBTQ Affairs Office while raising concerns about the office’s ability to carry out its ambitious programs was Vincent Slatt, chair of the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission’s Rainbow Caucus. The caucus currently consists of 38 out LGBTQ ANC commissioners based in all eight D.C. wards.
Slatt called on Mayor Bowser and the D.C. Council to increase the number of full-time staff members for the LGBTQ Affairs Office from its current six staff members to 10 or 11 full-time staffers.
“To address these challenges, we strongly recommend increasing the office’s staff to match the scale of its responsibilities and the growing needs of our community,” Slatt told the committee. He added that the office’s current “chronic staffing and budget shortage disparities will become even more concerning in light of the recent and anticipated homophobic and transphobic attacks expected from the White House and Congress.”
The other LGBTQ community witnesses who praised the LGBTQ Affairs Office’s overall work were Rebecca York, SMYAL’s director of Youth Development and Community Engagement; Justin Johns, director of operations for the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center; Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance; and Bo Belotti, development manager for the community services organization HIPS.
In response to a request from the Washington Blade for comment on whether the mayor and other city officials were taking steps to address the issue of grant funding delays raised at the D.C. Council hearing, the office of the mayor released this statement: “Washington, D.C. is proud to support the LGBTQIA+ community. The Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs continues to deliver impactful programs with its dedicated staff, and we are always assessing ways to enhance support across all community affairs offices.”
The Office of the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) responded to the Blade inquiry with its own statement: “DMPED has been working closely and collaboratively with the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center to finalize their grant agreement. We are proud to support this transformative project that is delivering a world-class services center for our LGBTQ community.”
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