El Paso Police unveils their approach to improve transgender and gender-diverse interactions

EL PASO, TX (KVIA) -- El Paso Police is responding to city council's directive from September, asking the department to ensure bias-free interactions.

El Paso Police Department's Chief Peter Pacillas will lead the presentation in today's city council meeting. The department's policy emphasizes fair treatment, eliminating gender as a reason for stops, searches or arrests.

Key points of the presentation include: 

• Ensuring officers ask about preferred names, gender identity, and pronouns during interactions.
• Ensuring gender diverse individuals are transported and housed alone whenever possible.
• During custody transfer, officers are required to inform other officers of any relevant identification information, respecting the individual's preferred or adopted name.

The El Paso Police LGBTQ Policy Committee, featuring associations such as the Borderland Rainbow Center and Sun City Pride, is guiding these improvements.