Local
Retired U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Tomi Finkle dies at 64
Volunteered with D.C. Police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit
Sgt. Tomi Finkle, who transitioned as a transgender woman after a 25-year career as a U.S. Capitol Police officer and in retirement served as a volunteer member of the D.C. Police Department’s then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, died Sept. 4 from complications associated with cancer. She was 64.
Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees what is now the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s LGBT Liaison Unit, said Finkle joined the MPD’s Civilian Auxiliary as a volunteer with the then Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in the early 2000s.
“She was the first member of the transgender community to serve the GLLU and assisted with outreach, training and education, and provided consultation on investigations and response to crime and incidents involving the transgender community,” Parson said.
“Her selfless dedication and commitment to policing and the community assisted MPD with building and strengthening relationships with some of the most underserved in our city,” he said. “She was a valued friend, colleague, and mentor, as well as a trusted adviser and confidante. Her expertise and experience helped many members of law enforcement grow and develop personally and as professionals,” he said.
Added Parson: “By living as her authentic self, she served as a role model for more people than she will ever know.”
In addition to her career as a U.S. Capitol Police officer and her years as a volunteer with the D.C. Police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, Finkle served as a member of a private, all-volunteer horseback riding organization that provides search and rescue missions and emergency first aide for people lost or injured in remote wooded areas inaccessible to motor vehicles, according to her daughter, Tara Finkle, who is an officer with the Alexandria, Va., Police Department.
Tara Finkle said Tomi Finkle began her association with the organization, known as TROT SAR or TROT Search and Rescue, toward the end of her career as a Capitol Police officer. She said Tomi Finkle became a skilled horseback rider some years before joining TROT SAR.
“She was a founding member of the organization and served as its commander until the time of her passing,” Tara Finkle said. “She coordinated searches.”
Tomi Finkle is survived by her daughter, Tara Finkle, and grandchildren, Chloe and David, and a son.
A Celebration of Life was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and a memorial service was scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Williams Funeral Home at 4270 Hawthorne Road, Indian Head, Md.
A burial service with U.S. Capitol Police and TROT SAR memorial ceremonies was scheduled to follow the memorial service at 2 p.m. that same day at Epiphany Episcopal Church of Forestville at 3111 Ritchie Road, District Heights, Md.
Tomi Finkle will be honored by TROT SAR members at the ceremony by the presence of a riderless horse, Tara Finkle said. Tara Finkle said that during the memorial service Capitol Police will present the family with an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol in Tomi Finkle’s honor shortly after her death.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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