Stonewalled: Police Abuse and Misconduct Against Lesbian, Gay and Transgender People in the U.S.

"Police officers accused a Latina transgender woman in San Antonio of stealing. One officer reportedly said, "People like you make the world a bad place." Three police officers and two detectives allegedly surrounded her while one officer searched her, exposing her pubic hair, buttocks and one of her breasts. She said, "I didn't ask to be searched by a female officer. I've tried that before - they don't care, to them we're all men." She was not charged with any crime. Officers refused to give her their badge numbers. She said, "I know to be respectful to police officers but I'm tired of the way they are treating us."

- AI telephone interview with Anonymous

Searches and Detention

AI has received reports of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of LGBT individuals during arrest, searches and detention in police precinct holding cells.

Searches and "Gender Checks"

AI heard a number of reports of illegal and inappropriate searches of transgender and gender variant individuals in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Antonio, as well as Alabama and Florida. Searches may take a number of different forms, from a pat "frisk" search to a strip search or body cavity search.

Police Policy and Training Procedures: While 62% of police departments report training their officers on how to do strip searches, only 31% instruct their officers in how to strip search a transgender individual. Only 24% of police departments report having a policy regarding strip searches of transgender person. In Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and San Antonio, AI found that generally speaking, the policy of law enforcement agencies is to have officers with the same genitally determined sex conduct searches of transgender persons.

Reports to AI indicate a pattern of officers undertaking searches which involve inappropriate touching of an individual's genitalia in order to establish an transgender individual's "true" sex, i.e., genitally determined sex. Transgender individuals and advocates report that, during street encounters and traffic stops, police officers regularly demand that persons they perceive to be transgender reveal their "real" gender, at times asking inappropriate and abusive questions such as "Do you have a dick?"
In several cases, AI has heard of police officers performing full or partial searches of transgender or gender variant individuals in public, either on the street or in police facilities in full view of other detainees and law enforcement officers.
Searches of transgender women are reportedly frequently marked by the officer's insistence that transgender women are men. Repeated and unnecessary searches of transgender individuals in police custody, by both police officers and medical professionals, have also been reported.

Treatment in Detention/Holding Cells

Detention Policies and Procedures: Reports to AI indicate that police authorities in the U.S. generally place transgender individuals into male or female holding cells based on their genitalia and in some cases transgender individuals may be held in separate holding cells. Out of the 29 police departments responding to AI's survey, 59 percent report having no policy on detention of transgender people, only 31 percent reported having any policy.

Failure to Protect LGBT Individuals From Other Detainees: AI heard several reports of LGBT individuals being placed in cells with other detainees and, based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, being subjected to verbal, physical or sexual abuse by other detainees. In some cases of abuse against LGBT detainees by other inmates, it appears that officers have not taken appropriate measures to ensure their safety, or have failed to intervene in dangerous situations. In some instances reported to AI, officers have contributed to an atmosphere conducive to attacks against LGBT individuals by "outing" LGBT people to other detainees, conducting degrading searches in plain view of others, or by engaging in homophobic or transphobic verbal abuse. AI's findings indicate that transgender detainees are at high risk of violence from other prisoners; transgender women in particular may be at heightened risk of torture or ill-treatment if they are placed in male jails or holding cells, as such placement may put an individual at risk of physical or sexual assault.
Verbal, Physical and Sexual Abuse by Guards: AI has heard several accounts of officers engaging in verbal, physical and sexual abuse against LGBT detainees in police stations or jails following arrest. Reports to AI further indicate that verbal abuse of LGBT individuals in detention may be common, in particular against transgender detainees, and frequently target their gender identity or expression. In some instances reported to AI, the abuse of LGBT detainees in police holding cells and jails in the U.S. has taken a sexual form.
Segregation: Authorities may separate detainees at risk of abuse, including LGBT individuals, from the rest of the detainee population. While this may be done for an individual's safety, it has resulted in abuses in some instances. AI is concerned that housing LGBT individuals in administrative segregation may mean that they are housed in punitive conditions purely on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. AI believes that placement in solitary confinement is not a satisfactory placement option, since isolation poses significant risks to an individual's well-being.
AI heard accounts from LGBT detainees and other detainees who had experienced problems in accessing medication while in police holding cells in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Antonio.