San Jose Attorney Claims Police Arrested Her for Being Transgender, Class Action Lawsuit Says
The class action complaint alleges that the San Jose Police Department falsely arrests people for prostitution without warrant or probable cause with the "tacit understanding that it would promote the unconstitutional and illegal goal of reducing the number of Transgendered Persons who appear in public,."
July 08, 2020 at 07:51 PM
3 minute read
A transgender attorney who was arrested in San Jose while walking home seeks to represent a class of trans people who allege the city and police have systemically targeted them under the guise of policing prostitution.
The lawsuit follows the killing of George Floyd and subsequent outrage from black and trans communities, which have both been subject to discriminatory policing.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Roxanne Bohren, a trans attorney who graduated from University of California, Hastings College of Law, alleges that police wrongfully arrested her while she was walking home last July.
The lawsuit alleges the San Jose Police Department has made it a policy to falsely arrest people they perceive to be engaging in prostitution without warrants or probable cause, and treat individuals differently based on their gender expression and sexuality.
"These defendants have established, maintained, encouraged, allowed, and/or ratified the above custom, practice, or policy with the tacit understanding that it would promote the unconstitutional and illegal goal of reducing the number of Transgendered Persons who appear in public," according to the suit.
Arresting officers told Bohren "that a directive had been issued 'from the top' that street walkers were to be taken to jail," wrote Bruce Nickerson, a civil rights attorney in San Carlos who is representing Bohren.
At the jail, Bohren's request to be held with other trans women was denied, and she was booked as a male, the complaint states. Bohren reported that jail staff then ridiculed her as she removed jewelry to pass through the metal detector.
"Plaintiff believed, and on the basis of that belief, alleges that she was arrested solely because she is transgendered and was walking at night," Nickerson wrote. "She now brings this lawsuit on her behalf and on behalf of others similarly situated who have been falsely arrested and charged with crimes they did not commit."
The proposed class alleges violations of their constitutional rights, false and discriminatory arrest, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The San Jose City Attorney's Office did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
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