New Jersey Superior Court Judge Martha D. Lynes recently granted the request of a transgender man and ordered the Jersey City Police Department to implement trans-inclusive sensitivity training for all current and future employees.
Lynes granted the request of Shakeem M. Holmes on Oct. 4, five months after a Hudson County jury ruled that Holmes suffered anti-trans harassment by Jersey City police when officers detained him for allegedly shoplifting in February 2013.
Jersey City is the second-largest city in New Jersey after Newark, with a population of approximately 270,000 people. It’s located in northern New Jersey, about 4 miles west of New York City. The police department has about 900 uniformed officers.
On Feb. 2, 2013, Holmes and a friend were arrested for allegedly shoplifting and transported by Jersey City police to a processing center at the department’s Bureau of Criminal Identification.
While detained, Holmes was subjected to transphobic insults, misgendering and threats of violence by officers, according to court records.
Holmes filed suit against the police department in 2014, alleging a hostile environment in a public accommodation due to his “gender identity or expression,” which is prohibited by New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination.
Defense attorneys attempted to have Holmes’ case dismissed as meritless. But last year, a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division cleared the way for a jury trial. The appellate division said Holmes “was in a uniquely vulnerable position [and] the individuals making the hostile comments were police officers, who wielded tremendous power over arrestees.”
On May 2, Holmes told a Hudson County jury that a police sergeant threatened him with physical violence while he was detained in 2013. Holmes testified that the sergeant told him, “If you come into my place acting like a fucking man, I’ll put my fist down your throat like a fucking man.”
Another police officer referred to him as “it,” Holmes testified.
On May 3, after deliberating three hours, jurors determined that Holmes was subjected to “severe” mistreatment due to his transgender status. But the eight-member jury didn’t award any monetary damages to Holmes for pain and suffering.
On June 8, during a post-trial court proceeding, attorneys for Holmes argued that remedial measures should be implemented within the Jersey City Police Department to avoid similar violations against trans people in the future.
In her Oct. 4 ruling, Lynes acknowledged that Jersey City police adopted an antibias policy in May 2017 with regard to transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. However, the judge noted that the policy doesn’t specifically address trans-inclusive sensitivity training for all existing and future police personnel. Lynes wrote that it’s within her authority to order the police department to implement the training.
In a related matter, Holmes’ attorneys have asked Lynes to order the Jersey City Police Department to pay their legal fees and costs, totaling $75,981.72, according to court records.
As of presstime, Lynes hadn’t ruled on the attorneys’ request.