Trans Woman Sues NYPD Over Arrest

A New York trans woman is taking the NYPD to court, claiming that her arresting officers mocked her and wrongfully arrested her for “false impersonation.”

The Associated Press claims that Linda Dominguez, a 43-year-old trans woman from the Bronx, was walking home through a park when officers arrested her and charged her with “false impersonation,” insinuating she was a man pretending to be a woman to deceive them, even though she explained she was trans. 

The case was filed by the ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union. Dominguez speaks limited English and had trouble communicating with the police, but did manage to provide both her chosen name and birth name. She also managed to communicate that she had no intent to deceive the police or prevent them from learning her name or identity.

“I’ve heard from a lot of other trans people who experience things like this or even worse,” she said through a translator, according to AP. “I know that we are more vulnerable, that Latinx people are more vulnerable and more affected by this kind of police behavior.”

Linda Dominguez, a member of @MaketheRoadNY, is doing hard and important work holding the NYPD accountable. Thank you to @BronxDefenders for having her back in criminal court and my co-counsel at @NYCLU for working with us on her civil case. https://t.co/FRrpzNMPMV

— Gabriel Arkles (@gabrielarkles) January 23, 2019

Charges against Dominguez, which included impersonation and trespassing in a park after dark, have been dropped, but her lawyers do not want to drop the charges against the officers.

“This highlights the way the NYPD continues to criminalize transgender people just for existing,” Bobby Hodgson, Dominguez’s NYCLU attorney, told AP. “It’s one thing to change a rule on the books, but it’s another thing to change the culture of an institution like the NYPD. Here they failed to do that.”

With all eyes on the fate of trans folks during these trying times, Dominguez will hopefully receive the support she needs to win this case.