Even if the Employment Non-Discrimination Act will move forward without the transgender segment of the LGBT community, the District’s transgender residents did score a victory yesterday. D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier issued a department general order on how transgender citizens should be treated by MPD officers when placed under arrest.

In June, the DC Trans Coalition organized a forum to discuss changes needed from D.C.’s police, fire and emergency medical services with regards to the transgender community. Since then, the group worked with the MPD and its Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit to move forward on those changes. A press release from DC Trans Coalition says the order, “sets the highest standards in the nation for the treatment of transgender people by police officers.”

Under the order, MPD officers will address transgender detainees by their expressed gender. Their arrest reports will also indicate that they are “at risk” of harassment from other inmates and should therefore be placed in separate cells.

“The policy plainly lays out for MPD officers how transgender individuals should be treated once they are taken into custody,” Chief Lanier said. “I have stressed to my officers that every person we come into contact with must be treated with respect at all times, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.”

In July, Virginia Grace Soto was arrested on charges of drug possession. Despite her protests to the contrary, she was processed as a male based on a previous arrest report. Soto spent two nights among the male population before a doctor determined she was indeed female. She was not transgender to begin with, however.

Image of the Transgender Pride flag taken from Wikipedia