MPD Officer Charged in Shooting Trans Women Ordered Held Without Bond

Yesterday, the court found probable cause that Officer Furr, the 20-year MPD veteran who was recently charged in a violent incident involving several trans women, committed assault with a dangerous weapon. He was also found to be a danger to society and ordered to be held without bond pending trial. The defense attempted to claim that Furr was acting in self-defense, as he was a police officer who felt threatened, but the judge dismissed that argument because Furr didn’t testify himself. The grand jury investigation has already begun, and another hearing is scheduled for early October. We will be watching this case closely. Thanks to everyone who has shown support and concern!

More on the story at NBC News and WAMU (including interviews with DCTC members).

Updates on Recent Police Violence Involving Trans Women

A D.C. Superior Court judge granted a postponement in the hearing of Kenneth Furr, the off-duty MPD officer charged in last week’s nonlethal shooting of at least two trans women and one male friend. Furr was ordered back to jail until Friday, when the court will decide whether Furr should remain there while he awaits trial. MPD has already revoked his police powers pending an internal investigation.

Meanwhile, reports have emerged indicating that Furr may have solicited sex from one of the trans women earlier. Witnesses say he became enraged when he was turned down, eventually opening fire on a car containing three trans women and two male friends while verbally threatening to kill them. Raising potential concerns of unfair leniency, Furr has only been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon — not attempted murder.

Also of concern are new allegations about how the on-duty MPD officers responded at the scene. Based on reports from community members who have spoken with the women attacked by Furr, they were handcuffed by police and  “treated like criminals instead of victims.” We are still gathering information, and will continue to support the survivors of this crime and to demand transparency and accountability from MPD!

The City’s Pilot Job Program: Are You Interested?

As previously mentioned, the city has promised to help address unemployment in the trans community with a paid job training program. If you are interested and meet the eligibility requirements (see below), please contact Jeffrey Richardson at 202-442-5143 or by email at jeffrey.richardson@gmail.com.

Here is more information from the Mayor’s Office on GLBT Affairs:

The pilot program will begin on September 12, 2011 with a class of 20 participants. The program includes three weeks of in class pre-employment training and job coaching followed by 6 months of subsidized employment. The Department of Employment Services will pay each participant minimum wage, while they are placed in an apprentice role with an employer. The goal is to support the participant in finding full-time employment by the end of the six months.

Eligibility Requirements

 All potential TEP participants must meet the following requirements for enrollment:

• Age 22 to 54
• District resident (as verified through a DMV records, lease, or judgment/commitment papers)
• Currently unemployed
• Not receiving government assistance, such as TANF, SSI, or Unemployment Compensation (Food Stamps are acceptable)
• Not currently using any illegal substances (there will be a urinalysis conducted at Orientation)
• Not a participant in a Project Empowerment workforce development program within the past 2 years

In addition, all potential TEP participants must demonstrate a substantial need for intensive employment assistance by exhibiting 3 or more of the following barriers to employment:

• Basic skills deficiency, demonstrated by a lack of sufficient mastery of basic educational skills exhibited by CASAS scores below the 8^thgrade reading level and/or an English language deficiency with an inability to speak, read, or write the English language
• Lack of a secondary school educational credential (high school diploma or its recognized equivalent)
• A documented history of substance abuse
• Homelessness
• A history of Job Cycling in which he/she has not maintained employment for more than one (1) consecutive quarter in the past eight (8) quarters, as verified through UI Wage Bumps
• A conviction for a Serious or Violent Offense

Pending referral to TEP, all potential participants must be in compliance with and actively engaged in the employment activities outlined in the plan developed during the pre-enrollment assessment with a OneStop case manager for a period of at least four (4) weeks.

Take Action! Next Steps After the Rally Against Police Violence

Thank you to everyone who came to the emergency Rally Against Police Violence! Around 70 people turned out with under four hours notice. (Click here for photos and media coverage.) Violence takes an emotional toll on all of us, and seeing such tangible support goes a long way toward community healing and regaining our sense of empowerment. We heard from representatives of DCTC, HIPS, Latin@s en Accion, Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, and Rainbow Response. Ward 6 City Council member Tommy Wells and individual survivors of violence also spoke. You all have our deep, heartfelt thanks!

So, what next? Already in 2011, MPD has reported 1 murder, 3 assaults with deadly weapon, 1 rape, 2 simple assaults, and 1 incidence of threats against trans women linked to anti-trans bias. Due to police failures in recording bias-motivated crimes and many trans people’s distrust of police, community groups unsurprisingly report much higher numbers. HIPS noted a 300% increase in violent incidents reported to them since last year. Most of these crimes targeted transgender women of color, and most were never reported to police. This must stop immediately.

Here are two ways YOU can get involved to stop violence against trans women:

*Demand Justice: Keep the Heat on MPD! DCTC and our allies will continue to put the pressure on Police Chief Cathy Lanier and to demand accountability and transparency. We want to see consequences for both Officer Furr and Officer Radon, who also assaulted a trans woman while off-duty last year. Regardless of Officer Furr’s motivation for harming members of our community, MPD must be held responsible for re-instating an officer who opened fire on innocent people while drunk and unauthorized to carry a weapon. Additionally, we demand that MPD:

• Expand training for its entire force on the existing laws and protocols to protect trans people,
• Take crimes against trans and queer people seriously,
• Track and report crimes against trans people accurately, as they are required by law to do,
• Notify DCTC and the Critical Response Team immediately with any developments in incidents that impact trans people,
• Stop profiling trans women of color and abusing communities they assume to be sex workers, and
• End the the disastrous Prostitution Free Zones and other anti-prostitution initiatives that force sex workers into dangerous situations where they are more likely to encounter violence.

Let the Police Department know that you are concerned about it’s treatment of transgender women. You can contact Chief Lanier at cathy.lanier@dc.gov. Also, Officer Furr’s trial and investigation are getting underway. Follow our blog or Facebook for updates!

*Work Toward Prevention: Fight Poverty, Unemployment and Job Discrimination! Trans communities face a rate of unemployment and levels of poverty that are double the already devastating rates in the United States. D.C. Mayor Gray recently promised to create a jobs program specifically targeting trans communities. Social programs will help decrease violence by solving the underlying housing instability and job precarity that put so many trans people, especially of color, in harm’s way.

Support our efforts to decrease barriers to employment and increase access to jobs for trans people in DC as we follow-up on Mayor Gray’s promised jobs program. Learn more and write him in support of these initiatives at eom@dc.gov.

***

For background on the recent apparent rise in violence against transgender women in D.C. (including how it relates to police, racism, sex work, city budget cuts, gentrification and more) … see here!

Discussing the Causes of Violence Against Trans Women

Violence against trans women does not only exist as individual hatred or bias-motivated crime. It comes in many forms and for many reasons. Trans women are systematically placed in circumstances where we are more likely than others to experience multiple forms of violence.

In order to end violence against trans women, it is important to understand that more than just personal prejudices are at fault. Other kinds of oppression like racism, laws like the criminalization of sex work, economic forces like poverty and gentrification, and many other forces are also at play.

Wednesday, DCTC’s Sadie Vashti spoke about violence against the transgender community with the Latino Media Collective. The interview was broadcast on the radio, but you can also listen to it anytime at this link. (The interview begins about 1/4th into the clip.) In order to be more accessible, click below to read an abbreviated transcript broken into headings by topic.

Note: The views expressed in this interview belong only to Sadie. DCTC is a collective of many people with a variety of views. To learn more about our official organizational principles and stances, see here. Also, this interview was conducted before the most recent attack on a group of trans women by an off-duty MPD officer.