AUSTIN, Texas - Austin’s LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission is exploring the idea of gender-neutral police affidavits.
- Homicide victim misgendered in police and media reports
- Austin police consider three options for revised affidavits
- Agree one options provides anonymity and removes possibility of misgendering
During a meeting Monday night, the group heard from the Austin Police Department concerning the issue.
The issue has involved a two-year process and was sparked by the slaying of Monica Loera, an Austin transgender woman who was misgendered in police and media reports.
That incident has police leaders taking a closer look at how affidavits are written. They are now consulting with attorneys and have come up with three different potential affidavit formats.
The first option completely removes gender identifiers and names from affidavits and simply uses the word “victim.”
The second uses first name initial and full last name.
The third uses first and last name initials only.
Commissioners weighed in Monday and agreed that the first option provides the most anonymity and avoids the issue of misgendering.
While training for Austin police officers is ongoing and a formal policy has been written, it has not been codified into police general orders yet. The policy is sitting on Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley’s desk. Department-wide training is pending.