Local
Judge dismisses part of gay D.C. cop’s bias lawsuit
Officer alleges anti-gay harassment
Former D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier has said the department does not tolerate anti-LGBT discrimination. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A federal judge on Monday dismissed three of 11 counts in a lawsuit filed last year by a gay former D.C. police officer accusing fellow officers and supervisors of subjecting him to discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on his sexual orientation.
U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan dismissed the three counts in response to a motion filed in January by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine asserting that former Metropolitan Police Department Officer Christopher Lilly failed to state a valid claim that the alleged discrimination violated his First and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights.
As part of his Sept. 26 ruling, Sullivan ordered the city to respond by Oct. 10 to the remaining eight counts of Lilly’s lawsuit that still stand. Those counts charge that the alleged discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by the MPD against Lilly violate the D.C. Human Rights Act and Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Lilly charges in his lawsuit filed in May 2015 that between 2011 and 2013 he was subjected, among other things, to repeated anti-gay name-calling and other forms of harassment, including the placement of AIDS stickers on his locker at the Fourth Police District, where he was stationed.
The lawsuit says the discriminatory actions began shortly after December 2010 when “without plaintiff Lilly’s knowledge or consent, his sexual orientation, homosexual, was publicized maliciously and intentionally” at the Fourth District.
“Following plaintiff Lilly’s ‘outing,’ any officer to come into contact with plaintiff Lilly subjected him to scrutiny, retaliation and ridicule by means of vulgar language, slandering his name and abilities to function as a police officer and questioning his abilities to serve due to his sexual orientation,” the lawsuit says.
Police officials and the Office of the Attorney General, which is defending the city against the lawsuit, have declined to comment, saying they never discuss pending litigation. Neither Lilly nor his attorney, Sameera Ali, responded to a request by the Blade for comment.
The city’s response to the remaining counts in the lawsuit, due by Oct. 10, would become the city’s and the MPD’s first response to Lilly’s specific allegations of discrimination.
The Attorney General’s court brief calling for dismissal of the lawsuit’s constitutional claims limited its arguments to procedural and legal issues and did not address Lilly’s claims of being subjected to anti-gay discrimination and harassment.
The Fourth District commander at the time the alleged discrimination against Lilly occurred, Kimberly Chrisley-Missouri, has since been promoted to the rank of deputy chief and is said to be among those under consideration to replace Cathy Lanier as D.C.’s next permanent police chief.
The lawsuit says Lilly filed an internal complaint with Chrisley-Missouri informing her of the discrimination and harassment he said he was encountering at the Fourth District but received no response from her.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Celebrating the transgender community, Baltimore Safe Haven, an organization committed to empowering LGBTQ individuals in Baltimore City, plans to host their fourth annual Baltimore Trans Pride on Saturday.
Instead of the usual parade and march, this year’s Trans Pride will be a block party on Charles Street and between 21st and 22nd Streets. The event will start at 1 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and last until 10 p.m.
Community members can go on guided tours, enjoy refreshments by local vendors, listen to presenters, and watch performances by special guests.
Sukihana, the event’s headliner, plans to take to the stage to entertain the crowd, along with a variety of local performers, according to Melissa Deveraux, Baltimore Safe Haven’s executive assistant to Executive Director Iya Dammons.
“Some (are) prominently known, some (are) just making a name for themselves,” Deveraux said. Iya is always making sure that community talent is showcased at all of our functions.”
In company with Pride on Saturday, Baltimore Safe Haven will be opening its new building on Friday from 1-4 p.m.
“That is sort of going to be the prelude to pride,” Lau said. “Thanks to Sen. Mary Washington and the Weinberg Foundation, we were able to purchase the building outright, and it’s going to be a community hub of administrative buildings and 12-bedroom apartments.”
Renee Lau, administrative assistant for special projects coordinator for Baltimore Safe Haven, said the planning process for Baltimore Trans Pride began in January, and putting it all together was a collaboration of multiple city agencies and organizations.
“Safe Haven is an LGBT community organization, but we service the entire community, and that’s the message we try to spread,” Lau said. “We’re not just here for the LGBT community. We’re here to spread goodwill and offer harm reduction and housing to the entire community.”
Lau said the organization’s biggest goal for the event is to gain exposure.
“(We want) to let and let people know who we are and what our community is about,” she said. “Right now, because of what’s happening in DC, there’s a lot of bad untruths going on, and the total thing is bringing out the truth.”
Deveraux said having a place of inclusivity, acceptance, and togetherness is important in today’s political climate and the current administration.
“This event will have people seeing the strength and resilience of the transgender community, showing that no matter what we are going through, we still show up,” Deveraux said. “We are here, we will not be erased.”
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
World Bank resumes lending to Uganda
PHOTOS: WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert
Baltimore Trans Pride to take place Saturday
PHOTOS: WorldPride Parade
Judge temporarily blocks executive orders targeting LGBTQ, HIV groups
PHOTOS: WorldPride Boat Parade
Activists rally for Andry Hernández Romero in front of Supreme Court
The best U.S. cities for LGBTQ homebuyers in 2025
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
