Trans woman’s treatment by London police jeopardizes trust with LGBTQ2S+ community

The questions keep mounting for London police about an alleged swatting incident and how officers treated a popular online transgender activist.

“The (LGBTQ2S+) community reaction is one of disbelief, there’s a lot of anger, there’s a lot of disappointment,” explains Christa Duvall, director of PFLAG London.

Those feelings stem from how police behaved towards a transgender woman during an investigation last week.

On Friday, Aug. 5, transgender activist Clara Sorrenti awoke to heavily armed officers at her downtown residence.

She was eventually released by police without charge— believing she was a victim of a ‘swatting’ — when someone makes a false threat to draw a large police response to an unsuspecting victim’s home.

But during her time in custody, Sorrenti’s birth name, also known as a ‘dead name,’ was used by officers— despite having had it legally changed.

Police officers also admit to using an incorrect gender.

On Wednesday, police Chief Steve Williams provided a written statement saying, “It has come to my attention that Ms. Sorrenti was referred to during her time in London police custody by an incorrect name and gender. We acknowledge the distress this has caused Ms. Sorrenti and we will be reviewing the occurrence to understand how that might have happened.”

However, Duvall believes Sorrenti’s experience has exposed ongoing problems in the relationship between London police and the local LGBTQ2S+ community.

“A number of trans people who have contacted me in the last three days and said this isn’t anything new. This happens to people in our community on a weekly basis. We don’t feel safe. It’s just brought it to light now,” explains Duvall.

On Thursday, Chief Williams once again refused to be interviewed by CTV News about the mounting concerns.

The lingering questions and written statement have drawn criticism from around the world after being posted on Twitter.

Despite a decision by police to disable replies to their tweet— outrage still poured in from around the world:

• “This is a garbage response just so full of fake PR spin. It’s no wonder you turned off replies. (Which is a sign of guilt by the way)” @ReyosB
• “Nothing says truth and transparency like restricting and hiding replies. You know what is transparent? Your cowardice and your complicity” @EndedMoon

“People are really going to pause before contacting the police now, because it’s not a safe place to our (LGBTQ2S+) folks,” worries Duvall after suggesting this week represents 50 steps backwards after years of effort to strengthen trust.

Duvall believes Chief Williams should publicly apologize and commit to real change through enhanced training for officers about how to work with the LGBTQ2+ community.

“Not training every year, not training every five years,” Duvall said. “I think this is something that has to happen quarterly.”