Notice of complaint related to 2022-0403

OF
DIAL
CUSTOM
OFFICE OF
POLICE OVERSIGHT
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT
May 20, 2022
ICMS #: 2022-0403
On May 20, 2022, the OPO received an online complaint.
The complainant alleges: I was taking photographs while topless near
, in protest of a (private, non-APD) security officer that repeatedly
insinuated I was a man. I am in fact a transgender woman, and I enjoy exercising my right
to be shirtless, as all Texans regardless of legal or perceived gender can do. This form of
protest is particularly important to me as it forces people that would otherwise perceive me
as a man to re-evaluate their perception. Two officers I previously had an interaction with
pulled up, and one of the officers repeatedly commanded me to put my shirt on, despite me
reminding them that I'm under no legal obligation to do SO. The other attempted to find a
legal basis for criminalizing my breasts, alleging something along the lines of "it is illegal
to attempt to arouse others in public" (this is paraphrased, but he specifically used the
phrase "arousal" in regards to my body.) This insinuation of arousal felt incredibly
disrespectful and creepy. I do not judge others for their sexual preferences or fetishes, but
an officer should not be admitting to strangers that their body arouses them, especially if
that stranger is caught in the power mismatch of being detained by the one admitting their
desires. There is no reasonable way to interpret this officer's words other than that he
thought I may arouse him, and as a survivor of past sexual violence this came dangerously
close to crossing my boundaries. Aside from the potential abuse of power, I see shirtless
males frequently throughout the city, and have never seen one be harassed for the act of
being shirtless. Commanding a female to cover her chest when a male in the same situation
presumably would not have been told to do SO is sex discrimination, especially when the
law itself does not distinguish between what defines male or female indecency. The
incident ended with me receiving a ticket for allegedly parking too close to a stop sign. I
am not admitting to or denying this infraction within this complaint.
This notice of complaint is a request for Internal Affairs to initiate an investigation to
determine if the employee conduct is within compliance of APD policy, Civil Service
Rules, and Municipal Civil Service Rules.
OF
CHICK LUSTER
OFFICE OF
POLICE OVERSIGHT
FOUNDED
NOTICE OF COMPLAINT