EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso City Council will meet Wednesday, Jan. 17 with the El Paso Police Department (EPPD) to discuss updates on training and language changes to their policy aimed at improving interactions between police and LGBTQ+ community members.
EPPD and multiple community organizations have been engaged in discussions of what those changes should look like after the City Council passed multiple resolutions promoting transgender rights in the City last month.
The Borderland Rainbow Center (BRC) has been one of the organizations involved in the discussions. BRC Executive Director Amber Perez explained that after Wednesday, there will be more work and meetings to be had, but that it marks an important step.
“This is an important junction and I think that all together, working together with PD, with the City, with all the collaborators and with the community, we can really make El Paso the shining example of what progress really looks like,” Perez said.
Perez explained that the focus of Wednesday’s meeting and the conversations with EPPD have been on what they can accomplish moving forward but acknowledged that the past is marred by challenges for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think that for too long, especially the LGBTQIA+ community and the trans community, to be honest with you, hasn’t felt safe when it comes to interactions with the Police Department and with other places of authority. I think that this is a good start to beginning to feel like, and I can only speak for myself, but where I can interact with somebody from PD and not necessarily feel my heart racing,” Perez said.
District 2 City Rep. Alexsandra Annello has been one of the figures at the forefront of promoting the policy changes in the City. She said she expects there to be challenges in making these changes, but trusts the leadership involved to be able to accomplish it.
“This is a culture change not just for the Police Department, but for a lot of older generations, a lot of people who have not interacted with trans or the LGBTQ community. And so, I think that really one of the bigger challenges is getting that culture change across the department. I’m really happy that the leadership in the Police Department, legal and City management are all for this,” Annello said.
Annello also explained that she understands some people may be apprehensive about what these policy changes mean.
“We just want to recognize that trans people have the right and have the respect of this community to be identified as they prefer. I just want everyone who is feeling a little bit cautious of this and not understanding why we would be changing police policy to remember that this isn’t to change any laws. This is to bring people into the conversation of safety,” Annello said.
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