Gay police officers

Their concerns clearly demonstrate that, although much has changed within the profession, many things have not. That said, it is also critically important for LGBTQ activists to understand they need to step back and let the police navigate their way through uncharted social territory, helping them if needed, and waiting before automatically condemning their efforts.

The Gay Officers Action League (GOAL), is a first-of-its-kind organization that was formed in to address the needs, issues, and concerns of gay and lesbian law enforcement personnel and has since expanded to a nonprofit tax-exempt civil rights organization.

The appearance of historic apathy toward employee wellness in law enforcement often resonates throughout the LGBTQ community and its view toward police. Lt. James Tracy worked at the Englewood Cliffs police department for 10 years before he revealed to his colleagues that he was gay.

GOAL was founded by Charles Henry "Charlie" Cochrane, Jr. (August 5, –May 5, ) a sergeant of the New York City Police. Although such concerns may be based on speculation, these individuals calculate that the risks may outweigh the benefits of revealing their personal information and thus choose to remain silent.

Many police commanders including sheriffs and chiefs feel equally unsure about revealing their sexual orientation, especially in conservative regions of the United States. History of LGBTQ people in policing Vehicle of the Chicago police with an LGBTQ branding The presence of LGBTQ officers in law enforcement has a history of controversy.

There was also general consensus with most that their discussing socially sensitive topics at work, especially LGBTQ-related issues, could be met with ridicule from their peers, lack of promotional opportunities, transfers, or termination.

However, based on interviews with many closeted LGBTQ law enforcement employees, a significant amount of work remains to be done.

First Publicly Gay NYC : She successfully alienated everyone in the room within the first hour

As a former full-time police liaison and a consultant who specializes in enhancing relationships between law enforcement and LGBTQ communities, the author receives a multitude of inquiries from police executives regarding how to better connect with their LGBTQ employees and community members.

Unlike previous generations where a duty to government service, job security, and pensions were highly important, many of the LGBTQ job applicants of today are far more concerned about how they will be accepted in the workforce. Fifty years ago marked the Stonewall Riots—the flashpoint over the historic conflicts between the police in New York City and its LGBTQ community that, for generations, endured selective enforcement by government officials.

Obviously, every officer is different depending on its size, geographic location, leadership, and community acceptance; however, several factors were consistent with those who participated in these interviews. Rest assured, this was the reality of the past.

In the age of the internet, it is very easy for potential police applicants to negotiate their way through modern websites and identify organizations in the private or public sector that may be attractive to them. These fears do not lend themselves to fostering a healthy work environment and may result in an agency never appealing to a large group of highly qualified potential employees, losing the good LGBTQ employees they already have, or defending against costly litigation as a result of inappropriate behavior involving the public, coworkers, or management.

The purpose is to make objective comparisons between the level of acceptance that LGBTQ individuals have experienced in the policing profession over the past 40 years. Their reluctance was not necessarily based on actual events although some werebut rather the perception that these situations may occur, combined with their ongoing uncertainty on how their command staff or executives would react.

The residual fear instilled within the U. These ongoing perceptions create significant challenges for recruiting, hiring, or retaining law enforcement officers who may identify as LGBTQ. Many agencies have made significant efforts toward building positive relationships with their LGBTQ polices and are engaged in productive efforts to address sensitive personnel issues designed to make their employees feel valued and accepted.

In an era where law enforcement is struggling to find enough qualified mary gay townsend to fill its ranks, indirectly alienating LGBTQ applicants has always been a significant concern that many law enforcement executives readily admit they feel helpless in addressing.

These same concerns further impact closeted LGBTQ law enforcement employees who remain unsure or unsettled on how their employers, supervisors, and coworkers feel about their sexual orientation or gender identity. Ultimately, the police were often used to control political concerns.

These internal organizational challenges, combined with media coverage of individual acts of misconduct by some law enforcement officers toward the LGBTQ community, serve as a constant reminder to LGBTQ community members and the rest of the public that declarations by some police officials touting gay progressive policies toward diversity may be nothing more than deflective sound bites.

If this dynamic continues to exist internally within the law enforcement profession, imagine how difficult it will be to convince the public, with any degree of believability, that the law enforcement culture has really changed enough to alleviate concerns regarding diversity and acceptance.

The male LGBTQ officers who served openly, as well as those who did not, revealed that their situation differs from that of their lesbian counterparts.