The ProPublica report found that, in official documents, investigating authorities “repeatedly” misgendered and deadnamed the victims. It casts a light on the murders of Celine Walker, Antonia “Antash’a” English, and Cathalina James, and how the police’s insensitivity has ruptured their standing with the local transgender community. Activists also say that the police’s mishandling of their identities may have slowed down investigations, since trans victims’ friends or acquaintances may only know them by their preferred names and pronouns.
The problem is hardly limited to Jacksonville, though. ProPublica spoke to authorities in Baton Rouge, where a trans woman was shot to death and referred to as a “transvestite” by police. A spokesperson for the local police said the department has no official policy on identifying trans victims and police may default to victims’ assigned sex. He added, “if it’s a male, it’s a male.”
Cox’s response to the report is mixed with gratitude and sadness:
“As I read this report from ProPublica I sobbed and wept for all the trans people who have been murdered and those experiencing direct, cultural and structural violence. I wept because I haven’t been allowing myself to. I wept for all of the violence I have experienced in my own life.
I am angered, saddened and enraged that the police in Jacksonville, Flroida and other jurisdictions don’t have policies in place to respect the gender identities of trans folks when they have been MURDERED. Injustice on top of injustice!”
Read the full note here, and you can read ProPublica’s report here.
