ACCOUNTABILITY AND HEALING: CONTACTS & RESOURCES

Both lived experiences and data show that LGBTQ+ people, especially Black, Filipiino, Latinx, and other LGBTQ+ people of color and/or LGBTQ+ people with disabilities, are more likely to have negative interactions with law enforcement officers.

The mechanisms for enforcing your rights when law enforcement has disregarded them can often be complex and inaccessible. The resources on this page – contacts for LGBTQ liaisons within law enforcement agencies and guides for reporting misconduct – provide some guidance for LGBTQ+ people seeking to engage with law enforcement officers.

You have a right to report harassment, abuse, and discriminatory treatment by law enforcement. Filing a formal complaint helps to create a record about misconduct that may include homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, and other discrimination. This process can be long and difficult, but the following resources can provide guidance. (Note: if you do decide to file a complaint, you should avoid delay—many jurisdictions require complaints to be filed within a specific period of time (often within 60 or 90 days) in order for them to be actively investigated.)

• Commission on Police Practices (CPP): Reviews and evaluates complaints, incidents, and/or abuses that occur with members of the San Diego Police Department. (Within the City of San Diego) 
• Community Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB): Conducts independent, thorough, timely, and impartial reviews of complaints of misconduct, deaths, and other incidents involving members of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. (Within the County of San Diego). 
• Reporting Law Enforcement Abuse FINAL (Transgender Law Center): This guide is intended to briefly provide guidance on some ways you may be able to formally address abuse by law enforcement. This guide is designed for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people, but a lot of the information will be helpful to others.