While proponents of queer hiring would say that is a win, a diverse police department, however, does not prevent racial disparities in law enforcement, Yates said. Maria Yates, a volunteer for Berkeley Copwatch, noted that BPD prides itself in diversity - racial, queer or otherwise. “It doesn’t make me feel safe and it doesn’t make me feel my students are safe.” “We are incarcerated at a higher rate than the heterosexual (population),” Bacchetta said. UCPD has not responded to a request for comment as of press time.
White added that BPD has not had LGBTQ+ awareness training in “a while.”īacchetta said BPD and UCPD policing strategies are a “catastrophe” and she fears for “the lives of queer people on campus.” “A good starting point is treating people with dignity and respect - that’s something we try to do with all calls.” “The LGBTQ+ community is part of the community, like everyone else,” White said. He said there have been officers who transferred to BPD because it was more inclusive than the police departments they previously worked with. He noted that wearing a Pride pin, or any other community-representing symbol, can be a “conversation starter.”īPD has a “culture of inclusivity,” according to White. “It seems like a waste of resources and a waste of time.”īyron White, BPD spokesperson, said BPD has given officers Pride pins over the past several years. “It’s kind of alarming to see someone in a police uniform - that represents the entire oppression of a community - bear a symbol that is supposed to represent joyousness,” Master said. Riya Master, ASUC external affairs vice president, called the pins an “empty-handed gesture,” while Paola Bacchetta, campus professor of gender and women studies, said she did not care an officer could wear a “clown suit” and they would still be part of “police oppression.” Berkeley Police Department, or BPD, announced in a press release June 1 that officers will be allowed to wear LGBTQ+ Pride pins - a decision made in “commitment to, and support of,” the LGBTQ+ community.
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