Local
DOJ investigators hear from community
Trans man claims he was ‘misgendered’ by police
‘Our goal is to work with the community, public officials and law enforcement alike to create a stronger, better Baltimore,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. (Photo by ibtimes.com; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
Ken Jiretsu, a transgender man who has three special needs children, was in need of assistance from the Baltimore Police Department. One of his children, a 15-year-old son, had to be escorted to a hospital by police because of mental health issues. When police arrived at his Baltimore home last February, the contingent included one female officer and eight male officers.
The female officer “misgendered” Jiretsu, repeatedly calling him “ma’am.” He kept correcting her, explaining that he is a transgender man and should be referred to accordingly. The officer replied, “How am I supposed to know,” according to Jiretsu, while the other officers laughed.
He asked the first set of officers to leave since they could not help and called 911 again to request different officers. Some of the same officers returned with a few new ones and the same situation occurred. “Every time he would correct them they would continue to misgender him out of blatant disrespect,” said Jiretsu.
This is one of the experiences that members of the LGBT community shared with attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which is in the midst of a civil investigation of the Baltimore Police Department “to see if there are broad systematic practices causing constitutional rights to be violated.” The investigators are looking into police stops, searches arrests, uses of force and discriminatory policies that may have violated the civil rights of citizens.
The DOJ investigation, which was launched on May 8 shortly after the unrest following the death of Freddie Gray who died from injuries sustained while in police custody in Baltimore, will include riding with the police, reviewing documents and files and speaking with citizens who have had encounters with police.
“Our goal is to work with the community, public officials and law enforcement alike to create a stronger, better Baltimore,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch when announcing the investigation.
Lynch indicated that if violations are found, the investigation will result in a “court-enforceable agreement” to change the practices of the Baltimore Police Department.
More than 25 community members attended a meeting at the Chase Brexton Health Services Community Room on Aug. 6. There were introductory remarks given by the DOJ representatives, which included the distribution of an “Incident Information Form” that requests details pertaining to a negative encounter with the police—in the past or should an incident occur in the future—to be submitted to the DOJ.
The four DOJ attorneys present held separate one-on-one meetings with LGBT individuals who related their personal stories. The attorneys listened to these accounts and recorded notes. A report will be issued, but one of the attorneys, Mike Songer, cautioned that it could take up to a year and a half for the report to be released.
The meeting with DOJ was arranged by Bryanna A. Jenkins, founder of Baltimore Transgender United. “We’re creating a new narrative getting community members to tell their own stories so they can save themselves and the community,” Jenkins told the Blade.
Anyone with relevant information regarding the conduct of Baltimore Police Department officers is urged to contact DOJ by email at [email protected] or calling toll-free at 1-844-401-3733.
In addition, you may submit forms, which are being made available by community members on Facebook to: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section, 601 D Street NW, Rm. 5907A, Washington, D.C. 20004 Attn: DJ# 207-35
Maryland
Maryland Congressman Andy Harris is new chair of the House Freedom Caucus
Republican replaces U.S. Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) who lost primary
BY PAMELA WOOD | Maryland’s lone Republican in Congress, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, is the new chair of the right-wing Freedom Caucus.
Harris has replaced prior Freedom Caucus chair U.S. Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, who lost his Republican primary earlier this year.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Man who had sex with cucumber in driveway wanted by D.C. police
Homeowner provides police with video; incident listed as ‘lewd, indecent,’ act
D.C. police are seeking help from the community to identify a man captured on video performing a sex act on himself with a cucumber in the driveway of a home in the city’s Truxton Circle neighborhood near Dunbar High School, according to both a police press release and police incident report.
“On Friday, September 6, 2024, at approximately 5:00 p.m. the suspect was in the 200 block of N Street, NW.,” the police press release says. “The suspect performed a lewd act in view of the public,” it says. “The suspect then left the scene.”
The police incident report lists the offense committed by the unidentified man as “Lewd, indecent, or Obscene Acts.” The report says the homeowner called police to report the incident.
The local online publication DC News Now spoke to the homeowner whose security camera video, which she posted on Reddit, shows the man removing a cucumber from what appears to be a lunch box and crouching down and appearing to insert the cucumber in his anus while standing behind the homeowner’s car parked in a driveway.
“I was so disgusted, and freaked out,” DC News Now quotes the homeowner, Catherine Baker, as saying. “I want people, I want my neighbors to know and keep an eye out for this person,” Baker told DC News Now. “There’s a lot of kids, there are high school students, they walk themselves to and from school, but we all have to be vigilant about this kind of thing,” Baker is quoted as saying.
The police report, which identifies Baker as having contacted police to report the incident, describes what appears to be the suspect’s actions as captured on the video, which Baker provided to police. It says the man, identified as Suspect 1, “went on to move from the front of the vehicle to the rear of the vehicle in front of respondent 1’s [Baker’s] window and continued to perform lewd and obscene acts to the cucumber.”
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately reach Baker for further comment.
She told DC News Now that she had not seen the suspect in her neighborhood prior to seeing him in the video from her security camera. The publication reports that Baker noticed that at one point the suspect appears to notice the security camera as seen in the video.
“It was that eye contact that really unsettled me, because it then continues for longer than one would imagine,” DC News Now quotes her as saying. “And of course, then he saves the cucumber for later, so it really leaves one with a lot of questions that no one wants to have on their mind,” she told DC News Now.
She was referring to the video that shows the suspect placing the cucumber back in his lunchbox before he walks away from the scene carrying the lunch box through an alley next to the driveway where the incident took place.
The police press release includes two photos of the suspect taken from the video. It says anyone who can identify the suspect or has further information about the incident should contact police at 202-727-9099.
A NSFW video of the incident was posted on Reddit here.
Virginia
Federal judge denies motion to dismiss gay student’s complaint against Va. school district
Complaint alleges Prince William County School District did not stop bullying
A gay former Prince William County middle school student alleges the county’s school board and school district failed to stop bullying against him because of his sexual orientation.
InsideNoVa.com reported the student’s mother filed the Title IX complaint in June 2023.
The website notes the complainant was a student at Ronald Reagan Middle School in Haymarket from 2019-2022, and his classmates subjected him to “regular and relentless anti-LGBTQ+ bullying.” InsideNoVa.com reports the complaint states the student and his mother “were met with victim blaming and inaction” when they approached the school’s principal and assistant principal.
The complainant is no longer a student in the school district.
U.S. District Court Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr., in Alexandria on Aug. 22 denied motions to dismiss the complaint.
“PWCS remains committed to providing an inclusive and excellent education for every student and has no tolerance for harassment, bullying or intimidation of students,” Prince William County Public Schools Communications Director Diana Gulotta told the Washington Blade on Monday in an emailed statement.
“Regarding this specific case, PWCS does not comment on active litigation,” she added.
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