Local
UPDATE: GLLU gets temporary new sergeant
Mahl ‘rotating through as part of his training’
Members of the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
A sergeant from the D.C. Police Department’s Sixth District began work on July 1 as supervisor of the department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit as part of a three-month training program and will return to the Sixth District upon completion of the program, according to a police spokesperson.
Earlier reports from police sources, now said to be incorrect, indicated that Sgt. Matthew Mahl would become the new permanent supervisor of the GLLU, marking the first time the unit has had a full-time supervisor assigned exclusively to the unit since 2009.
“Sergeant Mahl is an affiliate member [of the GLLU] and he is rotating through as part of his training,” Police Chief Cathy Lanier said on Friday in an email to gay activist Peter Rosenstein.
In a separate email, police spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump told the Blade, “Sgt. Mahl is an affiliate and like every member who attends affiliate training, he is rotating through and will return to his assigned element at the end of his detail.”
Lanier told the Blade in an interview last week that GLLU affiliate members are detailed to the GLLU headquarters in Dupont Circle for a 90-day training period before being rotated back to their regular assignment in one of the department’s seven districts.
Some local LGBT activists have urged Lanier to appoint a full-time sergeant to head the GLLU instead of retaining the unit’s current status of being headed by a sergeant who divides his duties between the GLLU and the department’s Latino Liaison Unit.
Since 2009, Sgt. Carlos Mejia has served as supervisor of both the GLLU and the Latino Liaison Unit. He has been praised by LGBT activists who say he has been doing an excellent job.
But the activists, including leaders of the local group Gays and Lesbian Opposing Violence (GLOV), have said the liaison units would be better served – as they had in past years – with a full-time sergeant assigned exclusively to each of the units, including the GLLU.
“I’m glad that Sgt. Mahl is rotating through the GLLU for training but we are still hoping that previous commitments from the chief and the mayor will secure a fulltime permanent sergeant for the unit,” Rosenstein said on Friday.
In her email to the Blade, Crump said Mejia and Sgt. Kenny Temsupasiri are permanently assigned to the Special Liaison Division, which oversees the GLLU, the Latino Liaison Unit and two other special units — the Asian Liaison Unit and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit.
Temsupasiri heads both the Asian and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Units.
Mahl told the Blade on Thursday that during his tenure at the Special Liaison Division he would serve as full-time supervisor of the GLLU and Mejia would serve exclusively as the Latino Liaison Unit’s supervisor.
“He’s helping me out getting things settled down here,” Mahl said of Mejia.
Capt. Edward Delgado, who heads the Special Liaison Division, sent an email on Thursday to LGBT advocates and various LGBT organizations announcing Mahl’s assignment at the GLLU.
“I would like for each of you to introduce yourself and inform him of the services that each of your organizations provide the community,” Delgado said in his email. “I know that he has been out in the community conducting meet and greet sessions. Therefore, let’s give Sgt. Mahl a warm welcome and support him while he is detailed to the Special Liaison Division,” he said.
Mahl said he has been on the police force for eight and a half years. He began as an officer assigned to the Third District and was assigned to the Sixth District shortly after being promoted to sergeant in 2009.
He said he’s looking forward to working with the LGBT community during his tenure as a GLLU supervisor.
Original post below:
A sergeant from the D.C. Police Department’s Sixth District has been named supervisor of the department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, marking the first time the unit has had a full-time supervisor assigned exclusively to the unit since 2009.
Sgt. Matthew Mahl has replaced Sgt. Carlos Mejia, who had been serving as supervisor of both the GLLU and the Latino Liaison Unit.
LGBT activists, while praising Mejia for his work at the GLLU, have long called on police officials to name a sergeant to head the GLLU who spends all of his or her time assigned to the unit.
But the head of the police division that oversees the GLLU and three other special police liaison units, Capt. Edward Delgado, suggested in an email sent to LGBT activists on Thursday that Mahl’s assignment with the GLLU could be short-lived.
“I would like to welcome Sergeant Matthew Mahl who is an Affiliate Sergeant from the Sixth District,” Delgado said in his email. “He is detailed to the unit to get a better understanding of GLLU operations and requirements…Therefore, let’s give Sergeant Mahl a warm welcome and support him while he is detailed to the Special Liaison Division.”
A police spokesperson couldn’t immediately be reached to determine whether Mahl’s tenure at the GLLU is consider permanent or temporary.
The Special Liaison Division oversees the GLLU as well as the Latino Liaison Unit, the Asian and Pacific Islander Liaison Unit, and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit.
Mahl said Mejia, who is helping him “get on the ground running” at the GLLU, will remain as head of the Latino Liaison Unit.
“The plan is for him to just take over full time the Latino Liaison and myself the Gay and Lesbian Liaison,” Mahl told the Blade on Thursday. “He’s helping me out getting things settled down here.”
Former D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey created the GLLU in the late 1990s as one of the first such units in a large metropolitan police department to be given full authority to make arrests and investigate crimes as well as reach out to the LGBT community.
Current D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier expanded the GLLU and the other three liaison units over the past four years to include dozens of affiliate officers assigned to each of the department’s seven police districts.
The GLLU affiliate officers, who receive training on LGBT related issues, respond to calls in their respective districts on matters such as anti-LGBT hate crimes or LGBT related domestic violence.
The GLLU’s headquarters in Dupont Circle currently includes five full-time “core” officers along with Mahl as supervisor. An aide to Lanier said last week that there are currently 99 GLLU affiliate officers based in the seven police districts.
Sgt. Brett Parson served as full-time supervisor of the GLLU from 2001 to 2007, receiving praise from LGBT activists for having a highly visible presence in the community. Parson served as head of the then Special Liaison Office, which oversaw the GLLU and the other three liaison units, between 2007 and 2009.
In 2009 Parson also took on the role of GLLU head after his replacement, Sgt. Tania Bell, left the unit. Later that year Parson requested a transfer to a street patrol position, saying his first love as a cop was to focus more on active crime-fighting duties. It was at that time that Lanier assigned Mejia to serve as supervisor of the GLLU while retaining his existing post as supervisor of the Latino Liaison Unit.
Lanier said that due to city budget cuts and police spending constraints, it became necessary to assign Mejia to take on the dual role of supervisor of both units.
The two other special liaison units – the Asian Pacific Islander Liaison Unit and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit – retained a full-time sergeant serving as supervisor.
Mahl said he was approached about taking on the role as head of the GLLU by Deputy Police Chief Diane Groomes and Delgado.
He said he has been on the force for eight and a half years. He said he began as an officer in the Third District and was promoted to sergeant in 2009 before being assigned to the Sixth District. Mahl said he looks forward to his duties with the GLLU and will be meeting with LGBT advocates and various LGBT organizations over the next few weeks.
“I don’t know how long these things last, but I’m here for now,” he said, when asked whether he was told how long his detail with the GLLU would last.
As of Thursday, the department had not issued an official announcement of Mahl’s assignment to the GLLU.
A.J. Singletary, chair of Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV), which monitors police related issues, said he was unaware of Mahl’s assignment as GLLU head until the Blade contacted him about the development.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “Having someone talking on this role is something we have been asking for and the community has been asking for. GLOV has always called for having a full-time sergeant.”
District of Columbia
‘Queer Love’ campaign launched to address domestic violence
D.C. event set for LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on May 28
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced earlier this month that it has joined partner organizations to launch a Queer Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign aimed at addressing domestic violence within the LGBTQ community.
In a May 18 statement, the Alston Foundation said the campaign involves a public awareness initiative leading up to LGBTQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day scheduled for May 28.
“Domestic and family violence in LGBTQ+ communities is real and too often invisible,” Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director, said in the statement. “As a community, we do not talk about it enough, and that silence can leave survivors feeling isolated and alone,” he said. “We must break that silence.”
He added that culturally competent care for those impacted by domestic violence is available through a newly launched website, queerlove.org, “where people can safely access vital resources, educational toolkits, and support networks they need on their healing journey.”
The website announces one of the project’s first events, a Queer Love Community Social, was scheduled for Thursday, May 28, from 6-8 p.m. at the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W.
“Join us this LGBT+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day for a community social dedicated to visibility and survivor resilience,” the website statement says. “Let’s gather to strengthen our bonds, honor the path to healing, and share free resources,” it says of the May 28 event.
The website also announces a June 1 workshop called Empowering Survivors of LGBTQ+ Intimate Partner Violence, which it says will be presented by Jesse Wedell, an official with the D.C. LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative. The website provides an online form to register for the workshop upon which its location would be disclosed.
It identifies the partner organizations working with the Alston Foundation on the Queer Love Public Awareness Campaign as the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center, and Equality Chamber.
The resources and information provided by the project can be accessed at www.queerlove.org.
District of Columbia
Man accused of threatening to shoot D.C. bar employee after making anti-gay slurs
May 24 incident took place near Black Pride events on U Street
D.C. police on Sunday, May 24, at around 4:20 p.m. arrested a Maryland man for allegedly threatening to shoot an employee while using anti-gay slurs at Ben’s Next Door restaurant and bar at 1211 U St., N.W.
According to a statement released by police and a police incident report, the arrested man, identified as Delonte Fraley, 32, of Accokeek, Md., made the threats after the employee told a bartender not to serve the man alcohol.
“The suspect overheard the employee and threatened to shoot the employee and used homophobic slurs against the employee,” the police statement says. “When the employee left the restaurant for the day, the suspect was standing near the employee’s vehicle,” it says.
“The employee returned to the restaurant and called the police,” the statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers,” it says.
The police statement says the arresting officers charged Fraley with Felony Threats (Hate/Bias).
D.C. Superior Court records show prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. criminal cases, escalated the charge to Threatening to Injure or Kidnap a Person (Bias-Related Hate Crime).
The incident occurred during Memorial Day weekend when thousands of visitors and D.C. area LGBTQ advocates and supporters were attending D.C. Black Pride events held in locations across the city, including Black Pride parties hosted by LGBTQ bars in the U Street entertainment area near Ben’s Next Door.
Among the nearby LGBTQ bars hosting D.C. Black Pride events were Nellie’s Sports Bar and Thurst Lounge. Ben’s Next Door is located next to the popular longtime U Street eatery Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Court records show that Judge Robert R. Rigsby at a May 25 presentment hearing released Fraley on personal recognizance with a stay-away order — the details of which were not publicly disclosed pending a June 4 preliminary hearing.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed in court by D.C. police says Fraley allegedly confronted the employee at Ben’s Next Door with anti-gay slurs on the day prior to his arrest.
“The complainant told the defendant that because he used homophobic slurs towards himself previously on May 23, 2026, and his hostess, as well as making threats to the complainant and calling him a faggot, he was unable to stay in the establishment,” the affidavit states.
It adds, “The defendant became irate stating, ‘I know where your Tesla is at. See me outside faggot, I will slap your ass’ and ‘I will shoot your ass.’” The affidavit says the complainant confirmed to police the Tesla referred to by Fraley was his vehicle. It says as the victim walked toward his car after getting off work, he saw Fraley standing directly in front of the car.
“The complainant stated he felt unsafe while the defendant was standing in front of his vehicle because he felt the defendant was capable of carrying out those threats,” says the affidavit. It says the victim then decided to return to the restaurant and call police without the defendant having seen him.
“The defendant was placed under arrest for Felony Threats Hate/Bias and was transported to the Third District Station for processing,” the affidavit concludes.
It couldn’t immediately be determined whether the victim identifies as LGBTQ or whether any of the Ben’s Next Door patrons had been involved with D.C. Black Pride.
“Established in 2008, Ben’s Next Door is a family-owned and operated restaurant and bar on U Street, Northwest in Washington, D.C.,” a statement on its website says. “As a Black-owned establishment, it’s our goal to deliver a warm, welcoming, familiar, and communal vibe to all guests,” the statement says.
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Congratulations to Peter Schott on being honored by Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer on National Honor our LGBTQ Elders Day.
Schott is a prominent LGBTQ advocate and seasoned political strategist who has spent decades advancing civil rights at the national and state levels. Following a distinguished 25-year career as a staff assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives, Schott leveraged his extensive legislative expertise to help organize the National Stonewall Democrats, serving as an influential member of its national board.
After moving to Delaware in 2002, he became a foundational figure in the state’s LGBTQ political landscape, co-founding the Delaware Stonewall PAC, (now Stonewall Delaware) to champion the election of pro-equality candidates. His strategic lobbying and community organizing were instrumental in the successful passage of Delaware’s landmark non-discrimination, civil union, and marriage equality laws. A former member of the State Human Relations Commission, he remains a vital voice for the LGBTQ community in the Mid-Atlantic, continuing to document and drive social progress through his activism and writing. Schott currently serves as vice chair of the Delaware Democratic Pride Caucus, and a board member of Speak Out Against Hate (SOAH). He was a delegate to two Democratic National Conventions.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, New York University; and a master’s of Public Administration degree from American University.
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