URNotAlone

Attorney Needed to Help Transgendered

April 30th, 2006 12:02 am MDT

Saturday, April 29, 2006 ATTORNEY NEEDED: TRANSGENDERED ACTIVIST SEEKS PRO-BONO LEGAL COUNCIL   Dear Sisters, This evening, I had a personal conversation with Maria Louise Roman. She was a sweet and lovely person who expressed a lot of gratitude in our advocacy and having spread the word about how she has been victimized by Club Space and the Miami Police Department. She is a woman and has had gender reassignment surgery. At this point, she is traveling around the country trying to make a living. You can see her latest project at http://trantasia.tv/   Ms. Roman indicated she failed to show up for her court arraignment in Miami and they now have a warrant for her arrest.  She stated she did not show up because she cannot afford to retain legal council and she is afraid that if she were to go to court, she would be thrown back in jail and subjected to the same sub-human and humiliating treatment that she was given the first time around.  She does feel a sense of obligation to the transgender community to follow through with a formal complaint against the police department to help prevent future attacks on transgendered people.  What Maria really needs at this point is the assistance of an attorney who is willing to provide legal services to her on a pro-bono basis so that she can document the incident through a formal complaint and have legal support in her court case.  She and I are going to speak again next week and I will be happy to forward any offers to assist her legally.  She has limited access to her e-mail but does retrieve it sometimes.  Her e-mail is Mariathemost@aol.com You can e-mail me at felicia589@hotmail.com Lotsa Love. Felicia -------------- Additionally, the following is a modification of a letter drafted by Michele Angelique that can be sent to the Miami Police Department Chief of Police as further advocacy for Maria. ATTENTION: CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, CHIEF OF THE MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT. MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENTS INTERNAL AFFAIRS DIVISION 1313 NW 36 STREET, 5TH FLOOR, MIAMI, FL 33142. ChiefofPolice@miami-police.org 305-835-2000 RE: MIAMI-DADE POLICE - WRONGFUL INCARCERATION, HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, AND ASSULT AGAINST TRANSGENDERED WOMAN MARIA LOUISE ROMAN, MARCH 10, 2006 Dear Chief Timony, We are writing to express grave concern over the treatment by your police department of Maria Louise Roman on the night of March 10th, 2006.  The victim reports what took place while in your police custody: http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/151130.php Ms. Roman was attacked by a male patron in a Miami nightclub.  She turned to your police department for assistance, and instead was wrongfully incarcerated, while the attacker was not even arrested.  While in your custody, Ms. Roman was subjected to verbal, physical and sexual abuse, by both male inmates and police alike. Bear in mind, Ms. Roman committed NO CRIME, and was later released without charges laid. The treatment of Ms. Roman at the hands of your police department was criminal, and the report of this misconduct is now circulating world-wide.  To confirm that the Miami-Dade police department does not encourage nor condone police brutality against transgendered people, we insist that you make a formal statement. Stonewalled: Police abuse and misconduct against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the US reports on the persistent and widespread problem of police abuse and misconduct against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the US. We strongly encourage you to sign the enclosed pledge affirming your commitment to combat discrimination and violence against LGBT people. Your signing this pledge is a first step in addressing the human rights concerns Amnesty International raises in their report. We also encourage you to visit the Amnesty International website (www.amnestyusa.org/outfront ) to read the report and review the recommendations highlighted for police departments. After signing the pledge, please return it to the Amnesty International address listed at the bottom of the page. It is extremely important that law enforcement authorities send a clear message affirming that the human rights of ALL people will be respected and protected, regardless of a persons real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. For this recent crime against Maria Roman, the Miami-Dade police department is now in the world spotlight as exemplifying a hateful, bigoted law-enforcement agency.  It is therefore vital that you take immediate action to adopt Amnestys pledge in confirmation that the MDPD does not sanction hate-crimes against transgendered women. Respectfully,