Collaboration
stressed by CM PD
chief at forum
LGBT-inclusion a priority for Chief Rodney Monroe, but
resists commitment to create permanent LGBT liaison
by Matt Comer :: matt@goqnotes.com
Fifty people gathered at the Lesbian & Gay
Community Center of Charlotte on Oct. 12 to
meet and chat with Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police Department (CMPD) Chief Rodney
Monroe. His appearance at the forum was
historic, marking the first time a Charlotte po
lice chief so publicly held an open discussion
with members of the LGBT community.
The discussion was quickly opened up to
audience questions. Several audience mem
bers asked the chief about a potential LGBT
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe speaks
with an LGBT community member at the Lesbian & Gay Community
Center of Charlotte.
police liaison position inside the department
and specialized training on LGBT issues and
sensitivity for all CMPD officers.
Monroe said he was supportive of such
measures, but asked for community support.
Such direct support and collaborative action,
he said, would enable CMPD to make steps
forward.
"Charlotte, as big and as pretty as it is, is
still a Southern town, with small town ways,"
he said. "We have to work together to make
this happen."
Riley Murray, a Pride Charlotte committee
member, asked Monroe specifically about
LGBT training for officers. She said some offi
cers working at the 2010 Pride festival weren't
gay-friendly.
"The officers we had at Gateway [Village]
were great, but when we moved to the NC
Music Factory, we had some officers who
weren't LGBT-friendly" Murray, said. "I feel
we need better backing from CMPD [at these
events]."
Monroe said he expected all of his officers
to act professionally, but that "officers are hu
man beings and will bring their own prejudic
es to the job." He said officers who don't act
professionally should be reported. If a pattern
develops, he said, action would be taken.
Monroe stressed his willingness to offer
more LGBT-inclusive training for all officers
several times.
"More than 800 of our officers have
received training in mental health issues,"
Monroe said, drawing a parallel. "As a result
we have seen a tremendous reduction in the
number of arrests and in increase in sensitiv
ity in those situations."
LGBT issues will be included in the coming
year's officers' training on domestic violence.
Monroe also stressed his desire to see
more interaction between CMPD and the
LGBT community. Forum organizer and mod
erator Roberta Dunn said she was working on
creating some sort of volunteer community
advisory board made up of business owners,
community members and others.
Still, Monroe resisted committing to a
permanent LGBT police liaison, although that
topic came up for discussion several times.
He said Maj. John Diggs,
CMPD's Community Services
Division head, already
performs similar functions
for the entire community
and directed LGBT people to
contact Diggs if they needed
anything.
"We don't know all the
issues in your community,"
Monroe said. "I'm not going to
sit here and say I do. We need
someone willing to come in
and help us understand those
issues. But I'm not overly
focused on specialization. It's
not fair to any community to
only have one person respon
sible for a set of issues."
Several other cities in
the Southeast have or had
LGBT police liaison units, including Atlanta,
Washington, D.C. and the Richland County
(Columbia, S.C.) Sheriffs Office. Atlanta's liaison
office has recently been increased to two
officers.
Audience members also asked about
CMPD's recruitment efforts among the LGBT
community. One audience member said he
knew of no openly gay male officers and
asked Monroe if he did.
"Yes, I do know some personally," Monroe
replied, saying he is comfortable knowing
CMPD reflects the diversity of the city it serves.
The forum was partly a response to
CMPD's handling ohhe Toni Alston murder
case. Alston, who was transgender, was
murdered at her home in April. The resulting
follow-up by police and detectives failed to
include the LGBT community and led to the
use of anti-gay and anti-trans slurs at a press
conference. Those slurs later made it into
mainstream media reporting on the crime.
Monroe's forum at the Lesbian & Gay
Community Center marks the first time a
CMPD chief has publicly addressed the LGBT
community, although other CMPD officials
have had meetings with the community. The
last CMPD meeting with the community oc
curred more than a decade ago.;:
— Originally reported at
goqnotes.com/8801/on Oct 12,2010.
Miss the forum?
Did you miss the Oct. 12 forum with
CMPD Chief Rodney Monroe? Catch
qnotes' entire video of the event at
goqnotes.com/8824/.
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