1928
(2 votes, average 4.50 out of 5)
Written by Louis Weisberg, Staff writer
Dec 2, 2010
For the first time, the Milwaukee Police Department has named an official liaison to the city’s LGBT community.
Last month, MPD Chief Ed Flynn appointed Mary Hoerig, an out veteran of the police force, to serve in the position. Hoerig already was acting as an unofficial advisor to the department on LGBT issues, as well as a facilitator for the LGBT community on police issues.
Flynn made Hoerig’s position official in response to a petition requesting a formal liaison that was submitted by representatives of 14 LGBT organizations, including WiG.
“Milwaukee’s a pretty big city not to have had a police liaison … so it was about time.” said Loree Cook-Daniels of FORGE, who coordinated the petition. “This strengthens the information flow between the community and police.”
The need for an official liaison became a priority for FORGE after several killings in the community during the past year, including the murder in May of Chanel Larkin, a transgender Milwaukee woman. In conversations with police surrounding the killing, Cook-Daniels learned that law enforcement personnel were unfamiliar with transgender issues.
Officials in Indianapolis took similar action last month, appointing LGBT liaisons to both the city’s police and fire departments following the slaying of a transgender woman and her boyfriend in that city.
Hoerig said her appointment reflects Flynn’s commitment to the LGBT community.
“I very much get the sense that he is serious about hearing from our community and he’s made that clear to me – not just though conversation but in his inclusiveness,” Hoerig said. “In everyday interaction with him, it’s clear that he values our community.”
For some time, Hoerig has served as a conduit between the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center and the police department. She’s also acted as a victim-witness liaison for the district attorney’s office in LGBT cases.
Now Hoerig is looking forward to reaching out to more organizations “to let them know that I’m here if they need me,” she said.
Cook-Daniels, who has already met with Hoerig, said she looks forward to working with the new liaison to address ongoing police harassment of transgenders and to work toward educating officers about the unique issues surrounding domestic violence involving same-sex couples.
“When (police) break up an argument between same-sex couples, they have nowhere to refer them for additional support,” Cook-Daniels said. “A liaison would be able to make sure that law enforcement officers had that information.”
In February, Hoerig will be part of a hate crime summit bringing together the U.S. attorney’s office, the DA’s office, the MPD and the community center. Among the items to be addressed is the fact that anti-gay hate crime charges have yet to be prosecuted in Milwaukee. Although police have preferred such charges in conjunction with crimes committed against members of the LGBT community, the district attorney’s office in Milwaukee, unlike in Madison, has yet to apply them.
“There’s a sense in the criminal justice community that the current hate crime statute is cumbersome and perhaps not helpful,” Hoerig said. “We’re coming together to talk about where should we be going … looking at (the statute) critically and seeing what would be the best way to go forward to accomplish what we want to accomplish, which is stopping hate crimes.”
Comments