2026-10-07 - Advisory Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs

00:00This is the regular monthly meeting for

00:02October for the advisory commission on

00:05LGBTQIA

00:06affairs. We are virtual only. Um we have

00:10our guests which is the uh Worcester PD

00:14team that we work very closely in the

00:15EODI office with. Um in terms of various

00:19community outreach, um we have their

00:22LGBTQIA community representative um

00:25Jesse Bernardi with us and the chief

00:28graciously. and then Trayvon and Angel

00:31here to add what it is that they do um

00:34for our various communities in

00:35Worcester. I'm going to take a brief

00:37roll call and then we'll go down the

00:39agenda. It's very brief um so we can

00:41leave uh the the WPD some time to do

00:45their presentation. So please, if you're

00:47present, identify yourself as such.

00:50Member Michael Abson,

00:53member Doug Arbiter here. Member Tasha

00:57Sizo.

01:04>> Asia Szo here.

01:05>> Thank you. Member Markwinette

01:08>> here.

01:09>> Member Ann Harvey

01:11>> here.

01:12>> Member Jules Troba.

01:16All right. So, we have four. We have

01:17enough to get going. Um, a couple

01:19housekeeping um issues. Again, we are

01:22recording this meeting in accordance

01:24with the open meeting law for the

01:26Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If you do

01:28not wish to be recorded, you should not

01:30speak or you should leave the meeting.

01:32Uh we have no option whether to do that.

01:35And um it's something that uh I don't

01:38have any discretion in. I hit record and

01:40everything I say gets recorded as well

01:42as everything you say. And then uh our

01:44comm's teams look at these recordings.

01:47um they clean them up and then they're

01:49posted for people to view view at their

01:52um leisure on the city website. So

01:56we will enjoy right now as item number

01:59two a public comment period and if there

02:03are any members of the public present

02:05please use the raised hand uh symbol or

02:08emoji at the top of the screen and we

02:10can recognize you in the order that you

02:12wish to speak. We try to give a 30

02:15minute maximum for this in the meeting

02:16with 2 minutes to each person. Um I

02:20don't see anyone currently in the room

02:22to speak. So we will move on to item

02:25number three. That would be to approve

02:28the minutes from prior meetings. I had

02:31sent all of you in September July's

02:33minutes and August minutes. So I would

02:36need a motion and a second in order to

02:39um approve those or if there are any

02:42suggested edits. Um please let let's

02:44discuss that now and we can make the

02:46edits and um represent at a later date.

02:50>> Motion to approve the minutes.

02:53>> Would that be July and August?

02:56>> Yeah, both.

02:57>> Okay. Do I have a second?

03:00>> I second.

03:02>> Um Ann, was that you?

03:04>> Mhm.

03:04>> Thank you. All right. So, we have a

03:06motion to approve the minutes of July

03:082026 and August 2026. A brief roll call,

03:12please for this motion to pass or uh

03:15carry or not carry. Um Douglas Arbiter,

03:19>> yes.

03:20>> Tata Cizo,

03:29>> I think you're on mute.

03:35Can you hear me?

03:36>> Yes.

03:39>> Yes.

03:40>> Thank you.

03:41Mark Winnette.

03:43>> Yes.

03:44>> Ann Harvey.

03:46>> Yes.

03:47>> Very good. This motion carries.

03:56Item number item number excuse me four

04:00is a presentation as I said to you by

04:02our guest tonight which is the Worcester

04:03Police Department. We have Chief Saucer

04:05with us. We have the DEI community

04:07outreach um unit with us. I'll let them

04:10each introduce themselves to you.

04:13They're going to make a presentation to

04:14us and then I think accept uh questions

04:17from us if we have some relative to the

04:19presentation that they make. So, Chief,

04:22I'll let you go ahead and uh introduce

04:24yourself.

04:26>> Sounds good. Thank you, Pat. Um I want

04:28to thank everybody for letting us come

04:31on tonight and we are excited about

04:33letting you know what we do in the

04:36community. There's a lot of um

04:40people that don't really understand

04:42everything we do. We hope we can

04:44communicate that tonight. So again, my

04:46name is Paul S. I'm the chief of police.

04:48I'm next in Jesse.

04:52>> Hi. Good evening everybody. Thank you

04:53for having me. My name is Jesse

04:55Bernardi. I'm a police officer uh with

04:57the Worester Police Department. uh work

05:00directly for Chief Sauce here as the uh

05:02LGBTQIA

05:04plus liaison

05:06between the uh community and the police

05:08department. I've been with uh the

05:11Western Police Department since 2008. Um

05:15I've been a cop for approximately 24

05:18years, worked in uh neighboring agencies

05:21around. Um I grew up here in the city of

05:24Worcester. Um, I've lived here my whole

05:26life, primarily up in the College Hill

05:29area. I, um, up by Holy Cross. Uh, went

05:34to the high school, St. Pretty Marian

05:36High School up on Grove Street and spent

05:39my entire life here in the city. Um, was

05:42fortunate enough to get on the police

05:44department in uh, 2008.

05:46worked most of my career in the

05:48operations division answering emergency

05:50calls on the busiest shift of 4 pm to uh

05:53midnight shift. I had route five which

05:56was downtown around city hall uh for

06:00over 10 years. I worked directly with

06:03the community every day uh between uh

06:07from Main Street about uh the start of

06:10like Kers Lickers down Main Street down

06:12behind city hall up uh up into uh the

06:15Bella Hill area. Um I spent some time in

06:18the service division also uh some time

06:21in the background uh investigation unit

06:23before um I was uh I had the opportunity

06:27to come up work for the chief as the

06:29LGBT IA plus liaison. I've been in this

06:32role for about the last two years um

06:36working uh with the chief and his staff

06:39in uh the community. My uh job primarily

06:43is to uh bridge the gap between the

06:47LGBTQI plus community and uh the police

06:52department. By doing that uh creating

06:54relationships being in the community um

06:58speaking uh with the members of that

07:00community and it's our intention our

07:03intent is to uh identify issues and uh

07:07address those issues before they become

07:09problems. Uh the the chief uh felt so

07:12strongly about supporting the gay

07:14community that he wanted that person um

07:17to report directly to him and that way

07:20uh there could be no interference um

07:23with uh any issues um and and they would

07:27have uh be addressed uh immediately and

07:31effectively. Um I'm been very fortunate

07:34to meet a lot of folks within the

07:36community uh over uh the last two years

07:39in this role. Work very closely with not

07:42only the gay community but u the asylum

07:44community. Um what you should know is I

07:48um I uh live in the city. Uh my partner

07:51and I um who happens to be um an asylum

07:55seeker from Jamaica. Um, and we know um

07:59very well what it's like to go through

08:02uh the immigration process and

08:05understand very much about the uh

08:06anxieties and fears that surround um

08:09that community with regard to ICE and

08:13deportation, things like that. So, um I

08:17I can't say that I know what it's like

08:19to walk in the asylum community shoes.

08:22However, I have a great deal of uh

08:24personal experience in navigating that

08:26process and understand uh the fears um

08:30and anxieties that surround those folks

08:32day in and day out in fear of being um

08:36approached by the police, targeted by um

08:40you know the government or um god forbid

08:43um you know uh being round up by ICE. So

08:47um a lot of my time is sp spent with um

08:51with those folks. I work very very

08:53closely with the LGBT asylum task force

08:57out of the Padan Park church um and have

09:01worked to establish many connections and

09:04relationships which have developed into

09:06relationships from many of the u the gay

09:10business owners here in in the city. Um

09:13we um we want to create an environment

09:16where folks, especially those in the

09:20LGBTIA plus community, uh feel safe and

09:24secure and reporting, god forbid, crimes

09:28or victimization.

09:29And um I know what it's like to be in

09:33that community and uh to be closeted or

09:38um have fears of being outed and and

09:41it's um come to our attention um that a

09:45great deal of uh folks that are in in

09:48our community uh who are victimized

09:51don't want to report their crimes

09:53because they either don't want to be

09:55outed or they're um afraid that they're

09:59not going to uh be treated fairly by the

10:01police. Uh so we uh we've worked to um

10:06you know establish this liaison position

10:09to uh give them a uh a safe space if you

10:14will for them to come in and either uh

10:17file reports or um I once a report is

10:21filed then you know I will often uh

10:24follow up with victims of crimes um and

10:28um you know just touch base with them

10:30work with them hand in and through the

10:33process of of the investigation and the

10:36case all the way up to excuse me all the

10:40way up to um uh they transfer over to

10:43the courts and the prosecution. Um some

10:47of these cases are um

10:51they are very private. um we were folks

10:55that are victims of sexual assaults, uh

10:58rapes, um and other heinous crimes. Um

11:03and you know, I don't want to put um

11:05anybody out there or their their um

11:08their case out there, but um we uh we

11:11work with with uh I've I've worked with

11:15people that have been um very serious

11:19victims of of of been victims of very

11:22serious crimes.

11:24And um that in itself is terrifying.

11:27That in itself is violating and um and

11:31so it's important that they feel uh

11:34supported and not only through their

11:37police department but through the

11:39process and not be further victim

11:41victimized. So, uh, some of these cases

11:44take hours, um, days, and, uh, they're

11:48tedious, they're time consuming, but,

11:51um, at the end of the day, the serious

11:53crimes that have been reported either

11:55directly to me and then through the, uh,

11:59the regular process or, um, or that I've

12:02been u onboarded during uh, we've been

12:06uh, very successful with the not only

12:09the investigations, but the prosecution

12:11of that of those cases.

12:13Um and so um with that being said um

12:18it's been an honor and a pleasure to

12:19work in this role. I um I uh enjoy the

12:23work very much. The um you know it's um

12:28it's rewarding and at the same time it's

12:32heartbreaking um some of the things that

12:34we see. So um yeah, I appreciate uh you

12:38having me. Um, I hope that gave you a

12:41good idea of a little bit about what

12:42what we do. Um, but based on the

12:46anonymity that is uniquely embodied in

12:49in this community, um, I don't want to

12:51out anybody's situation or uh, the

12:54sexual orientation. So, I guess I'll

12:57just leave it at that. Um, feel free if

12:59you have any questions.

13:04>> Thank you, Jessie.

13:07Good evening, everyone. Thank you and

13:09welcome welcome everyone.

13:12Um first I want to thank Patricia for

13:14putting this meet uh you know organizing

13:16this meeting. I know we had some uh

13:18technical difficulties but uh the

13:22Patricia and I worked on this last week

13:23and together we were able to resolve the

13:26problem. So Patricia I guess you and I

13:28are IT experts now. So I think we're

13:31good. Um,

13:34before I before I get going, um, I've

13:37been, uh, I've been assigned to this,

13:39uh, to the chief's office for the last

13:41over the last three and a half years.

13:43I've been a police officer for over 30

13:44years. Um, I am originally from

13:47Worcester. Um, I still live in

13:49Worcester. I love this city and this is

13:51why I I'm passionate about what I do and

13:55working with the direction of Chief

13:56Sauier and his leadership has made it

13:59that much easier. Um, and we've done a

14:02lot a lot in the last three and a half

14:04years together. So, I'm proud to say

14:06that and hopefully someday leave that as

14:09my legacy.

14:11Um,

14:13my role as the chief diversity officer

14:15for the department, I also oversee

14:17before that I I also oversee the

14:19recruiting unit with Trayvon. Um, I also

14:23oversee the community engagement unit

14:25which I have uh two officers that are

14:28full-time. Trayvon uh also and also the

14:32comfort dog, the Western PD's uh first

14:34ever comfort dog, uh Sheriff Barkley. So

14:37I oversee that officer is officer Mike

14:39Higgins. Um

14:42and as as was saying earlier like as the

14:45chief diversity officer, Chief Sauer and

14:48I we got together what three and a half

14:50years ago. We recognize the importance,

14:54you know, to having the PD lays onto the

14:56LGBTQIA

14:58plus community and we made it a priority

15:02and we spoke about having the right

15:04person to take over to this assignment.

15:07Um

15:10I was able to with the direction of the

15:12chief uh chief saucer um was able to

15:15implement full-time leaison to the

15:18LGBTQIA plus community by assigning

15:21officer Jesse Bennady who as you heard

15:24uh earlier he is now currently assigned

15:27full time to the chief's office and uh

15:31reports directly to chief saucer.

15:34Um, I could I don't want to talk too

15:37much about the the Audi stuff. I want to

15:39talk about what what my work is with

15:42this community. Uh, and this comes up

15:44with uh working together with Kevin

15:46Lovansy. Um, working with Kevin Levvency

15:50has been has has been very educational

15:53for me. Uh, I'm glad we have him. He's

15:55an asset. Um,

15:58you know, I want to thank his uh his

15:59hard work, dedication, and

16:00professionalism. Thank you, Kevin. Uh,

16:04with uh with his guidance, we do work

16:07together with my team and his team, you

16:10know, when applying and educating our

16:11police department when it comes to

16:13diversity, equity, and inclusion uh

16:16practices and issues. Um, one of the

16:20goals that we spoke of um, several years

16:23ago when we met was to uh, implement a

16:27class, a DEI class through community

16:29policing and we were able to achieve

16:31that um, with uh, Kevin's guidance. Um,

16:35it's actually called community policing

16:36class DEI community policing class which

16:39is uh, been put in the uh, uh, West

16:41Police Academy curriculum and we're

16:43actually very proud of that class. um it

16:45was the first ever in the police

16:46department's history. So um thank you

16:49Kevin for leading us that way. Um the

16:52curriculum of that class is put together

16:55by my d my diversity team here which is

16:59Jesse

17:00Trayvon and myself and Kevin's equity

17:03and inclusion team.

17:07One of the segments of that class and

17:09this is why I want to touch base on that

17:10is one of the segments in our DEI

17:13community policing class is titled

17:15community involvement trust building

17:17with community voices. During the

17:20session we pair a community stakeholder

17:23with a current police officer or another

17:25qualified uh community leader. We asked

17:28our panel to speak about their roles in

17:30the community and their roles in their

17:32respective organizations.

17:35During this segment, we have and we will

17:38be inviting uh members and

17:41representatives from the LGBTQIA uh

17:44LGBTQIA

17:45plus asylum task force and to include a

17:48couple uh Al Green, Lamar Mera, and the

17:52last gentleman uh what was his last

17:54name, Jesse?

17:58my heart and u

18:03that's just tuning in. So,

18:08>> Lynford,

18:08>> Lynford, thank you.

18:09>> Could I forget?

18:09>> Lynford Lynford Cunningham.

18:11>> Lynford Cunningham.

18:13>> Um,

18:14some of the some of the key focuses of

18:16that class and it's been the feedback

18:18has been very very positive from the

18:21recruits. We teach this class by the

18:22way. We teach this class to every single

18:24recruit class that we have going

18:27forward. We we're having we have a

18:29recruit class every year now. We're

18:31possibly looking at maybe uh upping

18:33that. So

18:35the key focuses for that particular

18:38segment is you know fostering empathy,

18:40partnerships uh and trust through direct

18:43engagement with local community leaders

18:45like I said earlier culture advocates

18:47and youth organizations.

18:49Um what we cover with the recruits

18:52um we have listened to you know we have

18:54we ask the recruits to to listen to

18:57diverse community voices with an open

18:59and empathetic lens. uh alo have them

19:02understand the challenges with each

19:04community and what to be aware uh to

19:08inform you engage with the community

19:10what to be aware of when you're out

19:11there engaging with this community um

19:15what we asked about this g the guest

19:16speakers obviously like I said earlier

19:18is uh you know who you are what

19:21organization you work uh the specific

19:25community you represent including the

19:27challenges and strengths of this uh of

19:30of this population.

19:33Uh the key insights for law enforcement

19:35ourselves on how to engage respectfully

19:37and effectively with that community and

19:40how can law enforcement better align

19:42with community values.

19:44Um

19:46by the end of the class that session we

19:49usually have a live question and answer

19:51uh with the panelists a group discussion

19:53and we leave it with uh how can I how

19:55can with the recruits how can I improve

19:58engagement with these communities in my

20:00daily role. So those roles already were

20:03implemented by chief saucier

20:06uh with we call parking walks. That's

20:09when the uh police officers are actually

20:11getting out of their cruisers, engaging

20:14with uh the community members, business

20:18owners, whoever whoever it may be. And

20:21that's something that we've been doing,

20:22but this is something that we've also

20:23implemented uh in this academy class.

20:26And um we're very proud of it uh

20:28actually. So, I've actually learned a

20:30lot myself and that's just one of my

20:33roles uh

20:36as a chief diversity officer for the

20:38department. Um we still have a lot of

20:40work to do. Thankfully, we have Kevin um

20:44who's guiding us and uh if you want to

20:48touch base on what we do in the outreach

20:49uh when it comes to uh recruiting, I you

20:52know, you touch base on that. Oh,

20:53>> of course. Oh, I'm officer Cooper. uh

20:56been in the department for approximately

20:57four years now. Uh we do a lot of uh

21:01recruitment events such as uh career

21:03fairs at Polaro Park with Mass Hire

21:06which uh reaches a lot of different uh

21:09uh people throughout the community and

21:11they're welcome to go and we get a lot

21:13of personal one-on-one time to answer

21:15questions regarding the hiring process.

21:17Uh we also do the Martin Luther King

21:19breakfast which we do once a year. I've

21:21uh attended that approximately three uh

21:24back toback for the past three years.

21:25It's a lovely event where uh officers we

21:29all get a table and we get to uh speak

21:32with community stakeholders uh amongst

21:35each other. Uh we also do the church and

21:37police uh clergy meeting. We do it

21:39quarterly uh so they get the chance to

21:42come in to speak uh address any issues

21:44that are evolving the church and

21:45community and it's all throughout

21:47Wister. Uh we do quarterly meetings with

21:50the black families together. So Fred

21:51Taylor, Celia Bloom, the NAACP.

21:55Uh we also do the diversity day at the

21:57Wister Courthouse as well. Um Phil

22:00Cruiser's events and we speak with a lot

22:02of students at throughout all colleges

22:05in Worcester and we're even spreading

22:08outside of Wister such as Nichols which

22:10will be attended next week. Um me as a

22:14recruitment officer, I also facilitate

22:16ride alongs to be able to get people to

22:17see uh the inside of policing in

22:20workings. Um we actually created a new I

22:23created a new system where it's all

22:25online. It's easier. It's no longer by

22:27the word of mouth in a piece of paper.

22:28It can all be filled out online. It's

22:30passed along uh through our chain of

22:32command. Uh there's plenty other things

22:35such as um

22:39um things that I do as well. I also help

22:41out with the cabinet training um with

22:44the community policing aspect. It's just

22:45you said being able to create that

22:47relation uh from our police work and our

22:49lived experience and our our patrol

22:51experience to show how we worked and how

22:54we adapted with uh our communities and

22:56be able to show them the recruits the

22:59community policing aspect.

23:04Yes. And I that is that that is all that

23:06I do as right now. But uh thank you for

23:09listening. There's so much it has

23:10allowed. I mean, we can go on and on and

23:12on, but uh I think that's pretty much

23:15the defense. You know,

23:16>> I I think um with everything these

23:19officers have said that I'm sure there's

23:23questions, I'd rather just open it up to

23:25questions and then we could answer as we

23:27go.

23:33>> Any questions?

23:37You all can just use the raised hand

23:39emoji thing on the top and I'll

23:41recognize you to speak so we get

23:42everybody in the order that they'd like

23:44uh to speak in.

23:46>> Okay, I'm going to go first. Um

23:51I'm curious, would it be, you know, I

23:53know that you do the ride alongs through

23:55the

23:56civilian program you were talked about.

23:58Would it be possible to maybe

24:01organize one for members or like I don't

24:05know do some kind of group thing or

24:08something like that or

24:11>> um Yeah. Go ahead.

24:13>> Yes, most definitely. I can send uh a

24:15direct link and all it is is you fill it

24:18out on a form and I can schedule a ride

24:21along. It's normally between I try to do

24:238:00 a.m. and uh to 12:00 p.m. So, it's

24:264 hour blocks. Uh you could choose any

24:29time of the day and you could choose a

24:31preference of officer or maybe

24:33selective.

24:36>> It is better through our office though.

24:38Mr.

24:39>> All right. Thanks.

24:42>> Go ahead, Mark.

24:48>> You're on mute, Mark.

24:56All right. Can you hear me now?

24:57>> Yes.

24:58>> Yes. Uh, I just want to uh uh throw into

25:02uh this conversation. And I I never got

25:05a chance to thank Jesse on uh as you all

25:09are aware, I I own the Emmy Lounge and I

25:12I deal with the LGBTQ plus community all

25:14the time and I've had to deal with the

25:16police and the district attorney's

25:18office on several cases which I I'm not

25:20a privy to mention, but uh I will say

25:23this, uh we prosecuted and we won. And

25:26uh Jesse, I want to thank you personally

25:28for the time as well as the DA's time on

25:31all the cases that uh we've

25:35thank God uh brought people to justice

25:38with. And I know you guys did a lot of

25:41bad uh uh scenes, but you've you've

25:46really come along for a lot of my uh

25:48patrons. I'd love to discuss the cases,

25:50but I I I can't. I'm not at liberty to

25:52discuss what they've done, but they uh

25:56Jesse, I appreciate what you've done.

25:57You've done a lot. You spent a lot of

25:58time with a lot of my patrons. I and I

26:01do appreciate all you do. And Chief, as

26:05well, uh it goes with all you guys. I

26:07know it's it's not like it was 10 years

26:09ago. It it's you guys come a long way.

26:13Uh, I just wanted to add that in there

26:15so the committee knows that I' the I've

26:17seen what these people have done already

26:20and I'm not trying to uh, you know, boot

26:23or be a brown nose or in any way, sense

26:25of any way. I've se I had to deal with

26:28this and and and I'm proud to say that

26:31uh, these people uh, justice was served

26:35and I just wanted to throw that in

26:36there. I have no no questions. Uh, thank

26:39you for your presentation. You did a

26:40great job all of you.

26:43Thank you, Ann.

26:45>> Hi. Yeah, thank you for this

26:47presentation. Um, I had a couple of

26:50clarifying questions

26:52um about the the class that you teach.

26:55That sounds like it's um a really

26:56helpful class. Is it like one class like

26:59one instance? Is it like how long is it?

27:01And what what does that interaction look

27:03like with the recruits?

27:05>> It's um three s we have three sessions.

27:08We have three classes of two hour two

27:11two twohour increments each and um this

27:14is scheduled through the our training

27:16division once our academy uh classes

27:18start. So come January we're going to

27:20start another academy class. We will

27:22then implement we'll get our scheduling

27:24in and then yes we that's just one of

27:27the segments out of the three. Um

27:30and Kevin you can help me out here. uh

27:33your team usually has a big uh part of

27:36this with uh Victor and and Joe as well.

27:39And then um Jesse, myself and Trayvon,

27:43we have uh also a segment that we uh

27:46speak about the the history of Worcester

27:47and and policing, how we got here. Um so

27:51it's it's uh it's evolving. I mean, we

27:55started out uh we started out here and

27:57now we we we're fine-tuning it to where

28:00it is here. and we we're just we're

28:02trying to uh better it every every

28:04single time. So, this will be our third

28:07our third time going around with this

28:10class. And um we also uh we also had

28:14feedback from uh the recruits and and uh

28:18and and the staff as well on how we can

28:21better, you know, we can better the

28:22class. So, Kevin, can you add to that as

28:25well?

28:26>> Sure.

28:26>> Yeah. No, thank you, Sergeant. Um, good

28:28question, uh, Commissioner. Just to

28:31provide context, and I I do want to say

28:33thank you to the chief because it's the

28:34first time it's been done where, uh, the

28:37executive office of DEI is collaborating

28:39with Worester PD um, not only in just

28:42their academy, but providing educational

28:44awareness and that's that's a

28:46requirement that they have to go through

28:48um, before they reach graduation, which

28:50is huge. Not a lot not a lot of

28:52municipalities are doing that in the

28:53first place. Um two, the curriculum is

28:56designed um in three-fold. So it

28:59addresses community um concerns and

29:01expectations. So what we're trying to do

29:03is to provide them um not only this the

29:06the skill set but expose them to um as

29:10an officer engaging in certain

29:12communities, you have to understand like

29:14there's certain history behind that and

29:16how you engage in an appropriate way but

29:18still understanding like their lived

29:19experience. So giving these them some of

29:22these tools around that um we feel that

29:24once they get on the field it can make

29:26um just patrolling a little bit easier.

29:29Um there's also a segment where we bring

29:31in stakeholders on behalf of certain

29:33these communities to for them to learn

29:35from the stakeholders of hey you know

29:37when it comes to the Jewish community

29:39these are certain things that you should

29:40know right when sunset is done you might

29:42not get a certain response from them and

29:44that's because of XYZ. Um so it's really

29:47been informative. Um, and then to

29:49Sergeant Miranda's uh point, um, the the

29:52classes are also divided by hours. We're

29:54certain amount of hours that we're

29:55teaching. Um, so you might hear like,

29:57oh, it's only one or two classes, but

29:59it's it's the amount of hours that we're

30:01getting to spend with the recruit. Um,

30:03so like I said, kudos to the chief.

30:05Something that it's new. It's never been

30:06done in different municipalities. So to

30:09to to be an outsider and have these

30:11conversations and provide knowledge, um,

30:13is only going to make them better at

30:14their job.

30:19Thank you, Kevin. And did you have

30:21another question?

30:24>> I did. Um, so I think I I'm curious

30:28about obviously there's several

30:30communities within the LGBTQIA plus

30:33umbrella community. It's why we have all

30:36the letters. Um, and then obviously all

30:38of those communities have different

30:40intersections with other identities and

30:41other communities. So, I'm wondering

30:43what those conversations look like in

30:45terms of like the differences and

30:48nuances and intricacies there,

30:50especially when thinking about like our

30:53trans and non-binary community members.

30:55Um, cuz that can be that can look very

30:57different and we know that they are

30:59historically more likely to be

31:01experiencing crime and so I would

31:03imagine that there's some intersections

31:05there. Um, and so I'm just curious like

31:07what that looks like from your end.

31:10>> Yeah, that's good question,

31:11Commissioner. Um so outside of the

31:14academy um we also get a opportunity to

31:18meet with the recruits um during new

31:21employee orientation. I specifically

31:23kind of go over that in terms of

31:25touching on pronouns, gender

31:27terminology. Um I try to do my best to

31:30give just a surface level to understand

31:32that intersection because this can take

31:34years for someone to understand. Um, so

31:37that's where I really kind of dive in to

31:39just the LGBTQ plus etiquette, right?

31:42Um, from pronouns to live names, um, the

31:45differences, um, how folks identify, but

31:48I really just give them just a

31:49one-on-one level. Um, I can't expect

31:51them to learn that in just that one

31:53class sitting. Um, but through through

31:56the experience of our stakeholders, they

31:58kind of touch on some of the differences

32:00within that community. Um, it's not the

32:02full thing, but it's just to at least

32:03expose them to that. Um, I do expect on

32:05their own time they can possibly

32:07continue to read up or try to do some of

32:09this information, but from a surface

32:11level we just try to cover like the

32:12differences. We don't get too too too

32:15deep into it just cuz time is limited,

32:16but the whole point is to expose them to

32:18that and that when they are approaching

32:20certain folks from the community. Um,

32:22they're doing that with etiquette and

32:23they're not misgendering someone or

32:25using the wrong pronouns or whatever

32:26that may be. Um, our goal is to make

32:29sure that there's a positive interaction

32:31and by that is just having just

32:32awareness on certain groups on how to

32:34approach them.

32:39>> If I could just add uh real quickly uh

32:42first I'll get back to Mark. Uh Mark um

32:44thank you. I I appreciate the great

32:47relationship that we were uh were able

32:49to establish and um I'm sorry that um

32:54you had to go through uh some of the the

32:56cases that we had to work together. Um

32:58however um I'm grateful that um that you

33:01were there to point uh those victims and

33:04in my direction and that we were able to

33:05help them. Um but um yeah, I appreciate

33:10you. Thank you. um in terms of the um

33:14trans community or the plus community um

33:18we were able to establish uh

33:20relationships with um some of the great

33:22organizations right here uh in our city.

33:25Um one being Love Your Labels, the other

33:27being um there there's there's many, but

33:30just to name a couple is um Love Your

33:33Labels. Uh the work that Josh Cro does

33:35in the community. um you know he does

33:38God's work and um I get a lot of calls

33:41uh from parents who are looking for help

33:44um and um or resources and whether he

33:48knows it or not I send a lot of people

33:50uh his way or over to um AIDS Project

33:52Worcester um at uh Swag Lead with U

33:55Lamar uh Brown Negra. So, um it's

33:59complicated work. Um definitely. But, um

34:03I'd ask you to remember that the

34:04Worester Police Department is uh the

34:07first police department in the history

34:09of the Commonwealth. I've been told the

34:12history of the country, but I'm not sure

34:13that that's true. At the very least, the

34:15history of the common Commonwealth to

34:17have an o um openly serving uh trans

34:20officer. That was Officer McQueen, who

34:22has since retired. Um, and Officer

34:25McQueen served here uh for 32 years. Um,

34:30and had a great uh career here. Um, did

34:32a lot of work with the uh LGBT um LGBT

34:37uh QIA plus community and uh received a

34:40lot of uh awards for the work that she

34:42did. And um so um yeah, Worped was the

34:47first to to have a uh a trans officer

34:50serving openly and did so um very well.

34:54Um when I was speaking earlier, I spoke

34:59uh simply only about the community.

35:01That's only half the work that that I'm

35:03responsible for. The other half is is um

35:07to I work out of the the stress unit and

35:10um closely with the stress unit. and

35:12that's to to support um our LGBTQI plus

35:17um employees here within the police

35:20department um uh who uh work in this,

35:24you know, uh or work for the city. And I

35:26get a lot of calls from area agencies um

35:30seeking help um or guidance on um you

35:35know an employee or um an officer who

35:38falls within the community and is either

35:42struggling to come out or is having um

35:44you know stress related issues and and

35:47um and dealing with coming out and it's

35:50um when uh I took over as the liaison

35:54where when Saj Miranda and the chief Uh

35:57very first thing to that that we did was

35:59to establish a um a u an agreement with

36:03um a uh counselor uh here in the city

36:07who is uh openly gay and um serves uh to

36:12provide mental health to many ma members

36:14of our community uh to support uh the

36:18members of our department, our our city

36:21employees and um and to provide an u you

36:25know a um an avenue or you know a place

36:30to go um if they need support in um

36:35regarding anything or the or or or their

36:38family members and and that um that you

36:42know help or guidance would be kept

36:45completely 100% confidential and uh the

36:49chief made it very clear that in working

36:51with our employees that you know if

36:53anybody um you asks uh what's going on

36:57or you know um you know we we keep

37:00everything 100% confidential and the

37:02direct um you know whoever's asking

37:05directly to him and he would ensure that

37:08they would feel safe and supported um as

37:11a member of this department or as an

37:13employee of the city of Wester.

37:18>> Thank you. Do we have any other

37:20questions from any of the other members

37:21of the commission?

37:27No,

37:29>> I have one more if I can.

37:31>> Okay, go right ahead of him.

37:33>> Um, what

37:35what do you see like how do you see this

37:37commission interacting with the work

37:39that you do? Like what is something that

37:41you would like us to look at or how does

37:44that like how do you see us interacting

37:45with each other?

37:49I I think um uh I'm sorry it took us

37:53this long to meet. Um I I uh you know

37:56wanted to meet you guys um uh months

37:58ago. Um just in the start state line um

38:02uh Mark and I had spoken about that on

38:04many many occasions uh that the

38:06commission was up and running um and

38:08that you guys were meeting. It just um

38:10it didn't work out. Um, as we discussed

38:14many times, um, the the needs of our

38:17victims come first. Um, and so my

38:20schedule's very fluid. Um, and uh, and

38:23if somebody's in crisis or um, you know,

38:27they um, there's an investigation going

38:29on or a prosecution over at the DA's

38:31office, then those tend to be late

38:34nights, early mornings, and and uh, I

38:37wasn't available when you guys were

38:38meeting or vice versa. So, I'm sorry I

38:41took us uh the song to meet, but I'm

38:43glad that we've met. Um and um you know,

38:47I think uh going forward uh we can only

38:50help each other, right? We're here to

38:52better our community and and for the

38:55betterment of especially the LGBTI plus

38:58community. And uh so um you know if you

39:02encounter somebody who needs our help or

39:05or the help of the police or anything

39:07for that matter, I get calls regarding

39:09um uh homelessness um um you know from

39:13parents. A lot of it seems to be a lot

39:15of um uh trans kids that that um

39:19unfortunately end up homeless. Uh uh

39:22thankfully we were able to find uh one

39:24of those kids sleeping under a um awning

39:26down off of um Mchuan Road a couple

39:28weeks ago. So um but if anybody needs

39:32anything, please feel free to to send it

39:34my way. Um you can either reach me

39:37through communications, which has access

39:40to everybody here. Um if you um file a

39:44report, I try to follow up on those

39:45reports. The officers are pretty good

39:47about sending me copies of of those

39:49reports. and um or yeah, I have a

39:52voicemail. You can leave me a voicemail

39:54or get me through uh my email. Either

39:57way, um be happy to work with anybody

39:59within the community, especially if they

40:01need the help of the police and ensure

40:03that they are um getting um the services

40:06that they need.

40:09>> Thank you, Jesse. Kevin, go ahead.

40:14>> Yeah, thank you. Uh I just want to add

40:16to officers Bernard's statement. I think

40:19other ways that this commission can also

40:21collaborate. Um, let's just say you're

40:24hearing things within the community um

40:26or you have a question about a certain

40:28practice or procedure like don't

40:30hesitate to reach out. One thing that

40:32chief has been pretty good about is

40:34meeting with few of the chairs and um

40:36having a you know candid conversation of

40:38you know this is where we're at, this is

40:40how we do things and sometimes that can

40:42inform commission members before they

40:44can you know get upset and not have the

40:46full story. So chief's been pretty good

40:48about just open door policy. Um we'll

40:50meet with either the chair or different

40:52commissioners and kind of explain what's

40:54going on and sometimes that gives a

40:56better insight versus all the noise on

40:58the outside. Um and another way to also

41:01assist perhaps there's probably policies

41:03that uh may impact the community or it's

41:07within you know the scope of the LGBTQIA

41:10plus community and we may ask for

41:12feedback like hey can you take a look at

41:13this policy? Is there something that

41:15we're missing? um you know per per se

41:18not having the lived experience but is

41:19there something that you could provide

41:21that we're missing and that that can

41:22inform chief uh before rolling out the

41:24policy.

41:28>> Thank you Kevin. that um the

41:31relationship between us and DEI office

41:35and Kevin is is extraordinary and it's

41:38helping me out a lot as a chief where I

41:41can bounce things off of Kevin and the

41:44same he can bounce stuff off of me. So

41:47it's been very advantageous for us and

41:50as you can see here these guys are doing

41:52incredible work and again we appreciate

41:56you inviting us here.

41:58Thank you, Chief. Are there any other

42:01questions?

42:06Very good. So, we have nothing else on

42:09the agenda.

42:11Chief and the DEI team, totally

42:13appreciate you for the work you do and

42:16for coming here and addressing the the

42:18work you do with with this commission.

42:20Um,

42:22could be an annual thing, could be more

42:24than annual. We don't know. We will uh

42:26debrief on this possibly at the next

42:28meeting um of this commission. But uh we

42:31very much look forward to collaborating

42:33where we can like we have with the other

42:35boards and commissions that we liaz

42:37through our our office. So if anyone

42:40needs any contact information, you can

42:41just reach out to me by email and I will

42:43provide you direct contact information

42:47um as required. So I'm happy to filter

42:50that in either direction. Um, having

42:53said that, we have nothing else on the

42:55agenda. We will be adjourned at 6:02

42:58p.m.

43:00>> Thank you everyone.

43:01>> Thank you.

43:02>> Thank you.

43:02>> Thank you.