I’ve always wondered if there were men in the police force who lived a lifestyle of open homosexuality. Do police departments have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy similar to the military, or are they prohibited from discriminating based on sex orientation by law? I’d assume it would vary by department.
I would think that an openly gay man would have a difficult time in the culture of law enforcement, just from the cops that I have known. Is this the case, or are there exceptions?
Depends. I wouldn’t expect someone in San Francisco having much of a problem being a gay cop. Hey, the Castro needs policemen, too!
Brian Paddick had a significant, and also controversial, career in the Metropolitan Police, now moving into politics. And you can’t be in any doubt about the website address www.gay.police.uk, even if it’s not functioning at present.
In Sydney, where i’m originally from, the police force has quite a number of openly gay officers. Some of them participate in the city’s annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Here’s the Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Issues section of the New South Wales Police Force website.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that gay cops don’t face any workplace hassles. Even when official Department policy is acceptance and support, that doesn’t necessarily apply to all members of the force.
Reno Nevada has a gay policeman.
Reno 911! - Wikipedia!
Here is an article from The Independent newspaper which is interesting, if rather depressing. From the article:
Obviously this concerns the UK police force.
It depends on the department and the culture that is allowed to exist within the department. In the department from which I retired, we had several out gays and lesbians and more that were not out. The department realized that sexual preference had nothing to do with ability or dedication as a cop. It was also made clear that sexual harassment had many forms, all of them equally litigious. Sexual harassment was considered a violation of ethics and, as such, was met with immediate termination, with Civil Service and union backing.
Ironically, not the cop in the Village People…
I know a lot of cops, and only a handful are both gay and out. One, in particular, I know has had a hard time from some of his older colleagues. I have the sense that gay cops feel they have to act particularly tough in order to overcome stereotypes of gays as being effeminate or weak. I know no lesbian cops, although I’m sure there are some… perhaps many.
I know him, his wife and daughter. Definitely not gay.
I went with a cop for ten years. Yes, there are gay cops. I’ve met a few.
The Washington, DC police department has a Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit. I find it interesting that one of the FAQs they answer is whether or not there are any straight officers in the unit. (And also whether there are any single officers!)
IIRC, there is at least one openly gay police officer in the police department of my alma mater back in California.
Yes, there are in Toronto, including a publicly out lesbian officer who works as a liaison between the Toronto Police Service’s GLBT consultative community (there are several conusltative committees that work with the police here with respect to training, recruiting, Professional Standards and community mobilization to help promote inclusiveness and minimize friction between cops and the communities they are supposed to protect).
Toronto police do not have a great track record with respect to their dealings with the GLBT community, but it is improving noticeably. Toronto Police Services also did a big recruitment drive in the gay village specifically in hopes of finding new recruits that help reflect the diversity of the city.
The police department doesn’t need don’t ask, don’t tell because being gay and a police officer is not prohibited by law like it is in the military. The discrimination laws would be the same for the police as for any other employer.
Of course there are. There are 4 on my department (out of 90).
You, sir, are most certainly correct.
Seems like a no-brainer there’d be gay cops in SF, but there’s a bit of history between the Castro and the SFPD. If you’ve ever heard of the Twinkie Defense, this conflict is where it comes from.
I believe one of our top-ranking cops is a lesbian (Well, I know she is out, just not sure she still works for Minneapolis) I think she was in the running for Chief of Police
Twinkie defense? I’m not sure I can google this at work.
I worked with a guy (sort of, it was a large place of work and I knew him on sight, but not much more) who went on to become a cop. It ended poorly, but not because of any hazing or abuse. His friends say the pressure was just put on him way too hard to be the liason between the Philadelphia Police and the local gay community.