Summer of transgender murders frays nerves
In the absence of arrests in all of this summer's murders of transgender women in the District of Columbia, police have tried to calm nerves by increasing the visibility of the recently formed Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit. Originally intended as an outreach office to smooth tensions between cops and queers, it now investigates hate crimes. The leader of the unit, Sgt. Brett Parson, was the city’s top drug cop. Parson, who is gay, says he spends a lot of time teaching compassion to fellow officers - advising them, for instance, not to refer to transgender people as "it" in police reports. How nice. However, if transgender activists were hoping for an outpouring of support from the city at large, it has yet to materialize. Two vigils were held at the site of Bella Evangelista’s shooting in the days after the crime. Friends and neighbors lit candles and created a makeshift memorial of pictures, teddy bears and sheet music of her favorite show tunes. By the next morning, someone had destroyed it. Newsweek
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