San Diego’s first transgender police officer was kept out of an event at the San Diego LGBT Community Center in Hillcrest last week because she was wearing her uniform.
The Transgender Day of Awareness, an annual event to honor those who lost their lives to anti-transgender violence, was held Nov. 17 at the facility on Centre Street.
Officer Christine Garcia, who publicly transitioned last year, helped plan the event and was part of the police department security detail that watched over a commemorative march down University Avenue.
After the march, when Garcia tried to enter the event as a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, she was asked to leave because her police uniform could upset others in attendance.
When leaders at the center learned what had happened they directly apologized to Garcia and San Diego police Chief Shelley Zimmerman.
“We do not wish to ever make any community member feel unwelcome at The Center – these officers are valued members of our community,” said Delores Jacobs, CEO of the center, in a statement.
Jacobs said the occurrence was a regrettable misunderstanding of the center’s already existing policy of inclusion, which seeks to acknowledge the concerns that members of the community may have without excluding others. Leaders have reviewed the policy with its staff since the event.
To view the newsclip of Officer Garcia sharing her journey, please click here.
To read more of Lyndsay Winkley's article, please click here.
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