Pride Under Siege: The LAPD’s Troubled History With the LGBTQ+ Community
“I’ve got nothing against fags; that’s not what this is about.”
– Attributed to LAPD Officer Skip Giuliani
While thought of as a deep blue city, Los Angeles has elements of far-right extremism that betray its liberal electorate. This is especially true within its police force as displayed by its historical treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2023, a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) spokesperson offered the following apology:
Members of the department who dared to come out of the closet found the department to be a “hostile, even frightening place.” In 1993, the city settled a lawsuit “accusing the LAPD of harassment and endangering his life” after rumors circulated that the complainant was gay. While this was supposed “to end discrimination against gays and lesbians in the LAPD”, ten years later officers were still alleging that “those who [were] openly gay [were] working in an environment filled with fear.”
At a 1990 protest in Century City against the first President Bush’s AIDS policies that I attended, this hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community was on full display. As a phalanx of police officers assembled between the ACT-UP protestors and the hotel hosting the President’s fundraiser, many made a show of putting on surgical gloves as if their health was put at risk by being in such proximity to LGBTQ+ protestors and their supporters.
Weeks before the 2023 apology, the LAPD had an opportunity to demonstrate that it had adopted a more inclusive approach to policing. The bigots opposed to a school assembly that dared to suggest that “Some children have two mummies or two daddies” had telescoped their intent to violently protest weeks in advance, giving the LAPD plenty of time to prepare a plan to ensure the safety of everyone at Saticoy Elementary School in North Hollywood. Unfortunately, as I described in my complaint to the Police Commission, the department’s actions endangered the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters:
It should have been clear that potential for violence existed as a group opposed to an inclusion event at Saticoy Elementary School planned a protest in front of the school on June 2, 2023. After all, in the prior week, someone had broken into the school campus and set a pride flag on fire. As a result of harassment initiated on the group's Instagram page, a trans teacher was forced from the school.
At the start of the protest, it seemed like the LAPD would take the steps necessary to ensure the safety of all participants. For the most part, the opposing groups were kept on different sides of the street. In cases where someone crossed over to confront someone from the other side, the police quickly escorted them back.
For some reason, at about 8:10 AM, that tactic was abandoned without warning. I was on the sidewalk having a conversation with a friend when I saw the group cross the street heading towards where we were standing. It soon became apparent that the group’s target was a trans person. I immediately took out my phone and started documenting the situation.
Within moments, the crowd enveloped me. I managed to turn on my video recorder in time to capture one lady from the other side screaming about being pushed even though no one was touching her. I then turned my camera on another protestor trying to grab someone's pride flag from her hands. It was then that I felt a punch and then a kick. Within moments I was then bum-rushed.
After being targeted three times, I put my phone in my pocket and lunged toward the person who had violently attacked me. However, I was stopped by the friend who I had been speaking with before the protestors had been allowed to cross the street.
As my friend tried to calm me down, I was approached by an officer whose name tag read “Mohammadi.” He told me that if he saw me "do that again" I would be arrested. I immediately responded, “I was just assaulted, and you are threatening to arrest me?" At this point, he made a motion towards his belt and told me: "That's it, I could arrest you now." Again my friend stepped in and de-escalated the situation, at which he backed off.
Helicopter footage that ABC 7 aired confirms my account as it clearly shows the attack was made on me without provocation. Combining this with the video that I took makes it easy to identify the person who committed the assault. Unfortunately, Officer Mohammadi failed to conduct any type of investigation. I did attempt to report Mohammadi’s actions on the scene but was told by that officer that he was "too busy" handling the crowd and I could make a report later.
It is important to note that I was not the only person to be assaulted during this protest. It is my understanding that one person was brought to the hospital as a result of their injuries. If any of the other victims were targeted because of their affiliation with the LGBTQ+ community, these assaults should be classified as hate crimes.
Unfortunately, protests against the LGBTQ+ community look to be on the increase. Just a few days later, a similar protest in Glendale resulted in even more violence. It is, therefore, important that the LAPD’s actions in North Hollywood be evaluated to improve the response to future incidents. This review should include:
The decision to let the protestors cross the street and interact violently with those showing support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Officer Mahammadi’s interaction with me and his failure to take action against the person who assaulted me.
Please contact me if you have any questions about my statement.
Sincerely,
Carl Petersen
I was interviewed by a sergeant from the Internal Affairs Division about the events at Saticoy, but two years later no resolution has been reached. A letter dated December 6, 2023, stated that the Department was “continuing to actively investigate” and said upon conclusion I would “be notified in writing of the investigative findings” While I have received sporadic follow-up phone calls, the promised findings have still not been received.
As we enter June, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters must feel safe celebrating Pride Month. With Trump’s second presidency, his bigoted supporters may feel more empowered, but the LAUSD has to make it clear that violent actions will not be tolerated. This requires analyzing their actions at Saticoy and ensuring that their field leadership is better prepared.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, and serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD’s District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him “a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles.” For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.