Executive Summary
LGBTQ people are part of every state and local community in the United States. LGBTQ people have faced a long history of discrimination and harassment by law enforcement and have been targeted by laws that criminalize their identity and behavior. Mistreatment of LGBTQ people by law enforcement continues to the present day, especially against LGBTQ people of color, those with lower incomes, youth, and transgender individuals.
Discrimination and harassment by law enforcement against LGBTQ communities is an ongoing and pervasive problem across the U.S. This report presents research conducted over the past 25 years showing that LGBTQ individuals and communities face profiling, discrimination, and harassment at the hands of law enforcement officers. These experiences have been documented in a wide range of sources, including government and private surveys, incident reports and government investigations, qualitative research, court cases, and anecdotal reports published in the media and other sources. Across many types of research, we find that LGBTQ people of color, youth, transgender people, and LGBTQ people with lower incomes face particularly high rates of mistreatment by law enforcement.
Key Findings
- The United States has a significant history of mistreatment of LGBTQ people by law enforcement, including profiling, entrapment, discrimination, and harassment by officers. The Department of Justice summarized this history of discrimination against LGBTQ people in its brief to the United States Supreme Court in Windsor v. United States.
- Survey data and other quantitative research. Surveys conducted by the government and private organizations indicate that LGBTQ people are more likely than non-LGBTQ people to report being stopped by police, searched by police, arrested, and falsely accused of an offense. LGBTQ people also report substantial rates of verbal harassment, physical harassment, sexual harassment, and assault. This body of research also indicates that LGBTQ people are less likely to feel comfortable seeking help from the police and more likely to distrust law enforcement compared to non-LGBTQ people. Examples of these studies include:
- A 2024 report by the ACLU found that LGBTQ+ people were significantly more likely than non-LGBTQ+ people to have been stopped by police (51% vs. 42%), searched by police (27% vs. 16%), arrested (20% vs. 14%), and held in custody (19% vs. 14%) over the course of their lives. One-fifth (21%) of LGBTQ+ people reported at least one police-initiated contact in the prior 12 months compared to 15% of non-LGBTQ+ people. Bisexual and transgender respondents were especially likely to report police-initiated interactions.
- A 2023 analysis of data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that nearly half (46%) of the sample felt reluctant to contact the police if they needed help compared to 33% who felt comfortable doing so.
- A 2022 report by Lambda Legal, in collaboration with Black and Pink National, surveyed over 2,500 people who were LGBTQ+ and/or living with HIV in the United States. More than half of respondents (57%) reported in-person encounters with police in the last five years. Almost half (45%) of respondents who interacted with police reported experiencing misconduct, including being accused of an offense they did not commit (31%), being verbally assaulted (25%), and being sexually harassed (13%). Researchers also found that police misconduct especially impacted Black people and those living with HIV.
- A 2022 analysis of data from the 2000-2001 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health found that among young adults, sexual minority respondents were 1.86 times more likely to ever be stopped by police, were stopped 1.6 times as often, and were stopped at younger ages compared to heterosexual youth. Sexual minority women were 2.18 times more likely to be stopped, were stopped 2.44 times as often, and were stopped at younger ages than heterosexual women.
- A 2021 Williams Institute report analyzing data from the 2015 Police-Public Contact Survey and the 2016-2018 Generations study found that LGBQ people were nearly six times as likely as the general population (6% vs. 1%) to have been stopped by police in a public space. More than one in ten (13%) LGBQ people said they did not call the police even when they needed help, and LGBQ people were almost four times as likely to indicate that they would probably not contact the police again as compared to the general population (22% vs. 6%).
- A 2020 survey conducted by the Center for American Progress asked over 1,500 LGBTQI+ people about experiences of discrimination and harassment, including mistreatment by law enforcement. The survey found that 15% of respondents had experienced discrimination from law enforcement. Among Black respondents, one quarter (25%) reported experiencing discrimination when interacting with law enforcement compared to 13% of White respondents.
- The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that 40% of the sample interacted with law enforcement in the prior year. Among those who said the officers thought or knew they were transgender, 58% experienced mistreatment, including verbal harassment (20%), repeated misgendering (49%), physical assault (4%), and sexual assault (3%). Respondents of color were more likely to have experienced at least one form of mistreatment, with 74% of Native American, 71% of multiracial, 66% of Latinx, and 61% of Black respondents reporting harassment or discrimination.
- Incident reports and government investigations. Incident reports and documents derived from government investigations provide insight into the experiences of LGBTQ people in their interactions with police. A series of annual reports published by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs between 2000 and 2017 documented many incidents of hate violence against LGBTQ people perpetrated by police, particularly against transgender people and people of color. These reports have also documented instances of mistreatment when survivors of hate violence have attempted to report their victimization to law enforcement. In addition, government investigations of police departments in New York and New Orleans documented discrimination and abuse against LGBTQ communities in those cities. Examples include:
- A 2017 report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) examined over 1,000 reports of hate violence directed at LGBTQ and HIV-affected people in 2016. Of survivors who did not personally know their offender, 10% reported that police were the primary perpetrators. Of survivors who interacted with police following an incident of violence (41%), many indicated that police had mistreated them during these interactions, including through verbal abuse (26%), slurs or biased language (17%), physical violence (21%), and sexual violence (5%).
- In a 2016 report, NCAVP analyzed 1,036 incidents of violence against LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected people in the prior year. There were 52 survivors who reported experiencing police misconduct, including unjustified arrest (59%), excessive force (24%), police raids (10%), and entrapment (7%). Black survivors were nearly three times more likely to experience excessive force at the hands of police than non-Black survivors.
- A 2015 report by NCAVP analyzed 1,253 incidents of hate violence in the prior year. Of 126 people who reported information on negative police behavior, 33% experienced verbal abuse, 16% physical violence, 8% said police used slurs or biased language against them, and 3% experienced sexual violence by police.
- In 2022, the Department of Justice opened an investigation into the New York Police Department’s Special Victims Division amid reports of gender-biased policing patterns. Allegations of “shaming and abusing survivors and re-traumatizing them during investigations” led to the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division pursuing an investigation.
- In 2011, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice released a report finding that LGBT people were often the victims of “discriminatory policing” by the New Orleans Police Department. LGBT citizens and NOPD officers agreed that LGBT community members, in particular, were subject to “harassment and disrespectful treatment, and unfairly target[ed] for stops, searches, and arrests.”
- Qualitative research. Qualitative research studies provide more detailed information about interactions between police and LGBTQ people. Participants in these studies have described being stopped for no reason, encountering hostile treatment when police discovered they were transgender after looking at their IDs, and having officers assume they were engaging in sex work or other illegal activities. Participants in several studies shared that they have concerns related to their LGBTQ identity about contacting the police or that they avoid the police in order to avoid negative interactions. In a few studies, participants reported positive interactions with officers who were sensitive to or knowledgeable about LGBTQ communities, such as LGBTQ liaisons. Recent examples include:
- A 2024 study based on interviews with 21 transgender women documented experiences of being stopped for just existing in public places, with one participant noting that one of the first questions police always ask is whether she has any warrants. Some participants shared that they avoided police as much as possible to minimize uncomfortable interactions.
- A 2024 study based on interviews with 44 transgender people in Virginia documented two instances of transgender women being pulled over for broken taillights and then mistreated once officers discovered they were transgender based on their IDs.
- In one 2023 study, two transgender women shared their experiences with law enforcement. One woman discussed being arrested by an undercover officer for sex work only after the sex act was completed.
- A 2022 study based on interviews with 19 Black transgender women from Baltimore and D.C. identified a theme of revictimization while seeking help from police. One participant noted that male officers asked what she did to cause her own abuse. Other participants expressed that when a knowledgeable officer, such as an LGBTQ+ liaison, was present, the interaction was more positive. In one instance, a transgender woman called the LGBTQ+ liaison after another officer blamed the robbery she suffered on her style of dress. The liaison reprimanded the officer, and the officer was suspended.
- In a 2021 focus group study asking transgender people living in Los Angeles about their experiences with hate crimes and police, a transgender man described being stopped by police while walking across campus and being placed in handcuffs. Police asked no questions but told him, “Oh, you want to be a man. I’m going to treat you like a man.” A transgender woman also relayed how, after being assaulted in a public restroom, she described what happened to police. Upon showing them her identification, they told her they couldn’t do anything.
- In a 2020 study, researchers assessed how policing practices affect LGBTQ+ youth who are in unstable housing based on interviews with 40 youth in Austin and San Antonio, Texas. Thirty-six of the youth had had interactions with police, and 31 said they had been arrested. One transgender girl described police shoving her, taking off her wig, and placing the wig at the back of her head. A lesbian youth relayed that police placed her in a man’s cell, despite knowing she was a woman, saying, “You want to be like a man, then I’ll put you in a man’s cell.”
- Lawsuits and anecdotal reports. Lawsuits and anecdotal reports have also documented experiences of discrimination and harassment against LGBTQ people by law enforcement. These cases continue to the present day, indicating that these issues are ongoing. Many of these reports detail extreme violence perpetrated by police, with some incidents requiring medical attention. In addition, police officers still engage in tactics such as raids and entrapment, leading to distrust between the LGBTQ community and law enforcement. Examples include:
- In 2019, a transgender woman filed suit against the New York Police Department for unjustly charging her with “false personation” and for mocking and harassing her throughout her detention. While crossing through a closed park late at night, the officers stopped the woman to question her. She spoke limited English, and when the officers asked for her name, she gave her former legal name, believing it was required to do so. The police then arrested her for trespassing and brought her to the station, where she explained to a Spanish-speaking officer that she was transgender and had changed her name. Officers then accused her of knowingly misrepresenting her identity and placed her in a cell by herself overnight in pink handcuffs. The officers repeatedly misgendered her and used her former name in direct violation of their patrol manual. A settlement was reached, part of which required that all NYPD officers of the 44th precinct receive training on interacting with the transgender community.
- In 2018, a gay resident of Palo Alto brought a lawsuit against the Palo Alto Police Department, alleging a violation of his civil rights due to their use of excessive force and targeting him for his sexual orientation. A video recording from the man’s surveillance camera at his home showed the officers slamming the victim against a car and into the windshield because they suspected him of driving with a suspended license. The microphone one of the officers wore captured the officer mocking the victim, using a “flamboyant, high-pitched tone” when imitating him. The victim settled the lawsuit for $572,500 and a two-hour mandatory LGBTQ-awareness training for all officers in the department. The offending officer was placed on administrative leave and retired in 2019. In 2020, the officer involved in the incident was charged with assault under color of authority and for lying on a police report.
- In 2016, an officer of the Mesa Police Department in Arizona shot and killed a transgender man with Asperger’s Syndrome while performing a wellness check. Three officers reportedly responded to a call about a suicidal individual. When the individual emerged with a knife, one of the officers fired, despite both officers having stun guns and one having training in crisis intervention.
- Impact of discrimination and harassment. A growing body of research shows that negative interactions with police impact LGBTQ people beyond the immediate incident. Research has found associations between police violence and harassment and binge drinking, stress, depression, and other negative health outcomes.