After Discussion, Officers In Uniform Will Be Welcome At Sac Pride
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – The Sacramento Police Department says, after a discussion with community leaders, officers in uniform will be welcomed at Sac Pride this year.
With 2019 marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Sac Pride organizers had made the decision to ask officers in uniform to not participate in Pride.
"To honor the pain and marginalization of community members who have been harmed by police violence, we have asked Sacramento Police not to participate in uniform for the 50th anniversary of Stonewall," Sac Pride organizers wrote in an earlier statement.
RELATED: Uniformed Officers Banned From Sacramento Pride Festivities
The move to bar officers in uniform proved controversial, prompting discussions between Sac Pride, LGBTQ leaders and Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn.
Thursday, Sacramento police announced that the controversy ultimately strengthened the partnership between the department and the Sacramento LGBT Community Center.
Officers in uniform will now be welcomed at Sac Pride, the department says.
"Everyone at the table listened, heard one another, and spoke from the heart, making it apparent everyone had the same desire to do what is best for the community," Chief Hahn said in a statement.
Sacramento police say they will also start implementing new training policies and an advisory committee sensitive to the LGBTQ community.
"Fifty years later, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the vestiges of indifference, fear and bias from that period still lurk within our City today," said Sacramento LGBT Community Center board president Carlos Marquez. "This partnership is about healing and propelling us forward."
Sacramento police note that many officers in their department are LGBTQ themselves.
