by: 
Jordan
JordanMonday, September 19, 2011 at 1:24:00 PM EDT
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This is one of those stories that make me respect the police less and less. Though I've never had any physical harm caused by the police (though that experience in Bensalem Township was a bit jarring to say the least), its clear there are widespread problems in regards to our law enforcement system's treatment of transgender youth and adults, according to the available statistics, close to 2/3 of transgender women have spent some time incarcerated, as compared to one of four African-American males.
In Washington, DC. recently, an off-duty cop decided to recklessly and unjustifiably shoot up a car and the two transgender individuals inside of it.
According to the Washington Post, the fight began when one of the women was propositioned for sex. This is something that hits home to me, as whenever I am in a poorer area of Philadelphia, it seems that everybody thinks I am either a prostitute or an undercover cop. The people who approached the victim as well as Mr. Furr did nothing but reinforce dangerous stereotypes of transgender people being "sexual deviants", "easy", and/or "prostitutes".An off-duty D.C. police officer who is in jail for shooting at members of the transgender community stood on the hood of the car while firing his Glock 9, according to court records.
Court papers say Officer Kenneth Furr fired multiple shots into the car with five people inside. One victim was hit multiple times.
Furr is in D.C. jail but segregated from the general population for his safety since he is a police officer.
As he was standing on the hood of the car, court records say Furr shouted "I'm gonna kill you."
Furr blew a .15 breath test, according to court records.
Police recovered five shells from the scene
Police say a confrontation occurred between Furr and five other people at a CVS on First Street in Northeast about 90 minutes before the shooting took place at First and Pierce streets in Northwest.
There has been a wave of anti-trans violence in Washington, DC as of late. On Dix Street, two transgender women have been attacked, one died, within a block of each other.
The fact that the abovementioned offense was perpetrated by a member of law enforcement does not bode well for the affected community's confidence in being protected and seeing their rights respected -- which is already probably somewhere near nil.
Ultimately, there needs to be greater police accountability in terms of trans education. This is where Julie Marin, Executive Director and Founder of Transgender Community of Police and Sheriffs (TCOPS), decided to take action:
The website has many resources for law enforcement agents transitions, including various transgender and law enforcement resources, even going as far as to include a guide for the police dealing with the transgender community on the best.TCOPS is a peer support network for transgendered law enforcement officers. Members are patrol officers, deputies, federal officers, detectives, correctional officers, parole agents, probation officers, constables, rangers, parks police, police officers, deputy sheriffs, state special agents, federal special agents, special police officers, reserve officers, district attorney investigators, forensic scientists, crime scene technicians, military law enforcement personnel, corrections officers & CID officers, community service officers, college, campus, and school police officers, latent fingerprint examiners, and other support staff, and retired officers. Active, former, and retired transgender members from these law enforcement agencies are eligible for membership in TCOPS.
There are currently plans to incorporate TCOPS into a Not-For-Profit Organization, to advance the cause of transgender employee’s right to be employed and/ or retain employment, through advocacy, support, and education.
Only when the people in blue experience having one or some of their colleagues transition on the job, will we see more tolerance among the law enforcement community, but I am not holding my breath.
-Jordan Gwendolyn Davis
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