When Parson took over the gay unit in 2001, two years after it was created, he added a heavy dose of law enforcement to what started as a community outreach program. "We are not just going to protect gay people," he told Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey. "We are going to do real police work."Other law enforcement agencies across the country -- Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago -- have officers who deal with the gay community, but none has a separate squad like the District's. In addition to four full-time officers, there are eight auxiliary and reserve officers, including one transgender member, Tomi Finkle, a retired U.S. Capitol Police sergeant who now carries a LadySmith .45. Read more.
Sergeant Brett Parson, a Washington DC area native, is head of the DC Metropolitan Police Gay and Lesbian Unit (GLLU). In existence since June 2000, GLLU is staffed by openly gay and lesbian members of the department and their allies.
In July 2006, the GLLU was awarded the prestigious "Innovations in American Government Award" from Harvard University’s Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation for reaching out to an under-served community and creating a model for community policing. This is the second time that a District program has received this $100,000 award – last year the District’s SEED School was a prize winner.
To learn more about the MPDC's GLLU visit their website at www.gllu.org.
NOTE: The GLLU office is not a full service police station and does not have regular business hours. In case of an emergency, dial 9-1-1. A member of the GLLU is alway on-call and available via the On-Call Pager at 1(877) 495-5995.
Click above 3 January 2007 photo of Sergeant Brett Parson to view my MPDC 2007 project. See also MPDC 2006 or MPDC or Cop Duty 2007 or Cop Duty 2006 or Cop Duty.
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