NYC Pride announces new policies to address the presence of law enforcement and NYPD at Pride events in New York. In a separate statement, the organization said the decision came after discussions with NYC’s LGBT community members.
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But we know that’s what our community expects of us at this time.” So that’s the perspective we’re coming from. “But what the institution represents sometimes to a person of color or trans person is violence, and that doesn’t make you feel safe. “We know many LGBT cops,” Andre Thomas of Heritage of Pride said. Heritage of Pride’s co-chair told ABC News that the organization decided to part ways with the NYPD because the institution represents “violence” to gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals.
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“NYC Pride is also working to reduce the New York Police Department’s security and first responder presence at its events, the organization said.”
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“Police will be banned from participating in NYC Pride events, including its signature LGBTQ march, until 2025, the organization announced Saturday,” according to ABC. It is not clear whether Heritage of Pride has the authority to force law enforcement to draw down its presence at the parade, given that New York City has seen an increasing crime rate, and the Pride Parade is traditionally a large event, but the organization believes it does have the authority to ban officers from “participating” in the parade, per ABC News. Heritage of Pride, the organization that hosts New York City’s annual LGBT Pride Parade, voted to ban police from participating in the 2021 Pride Parade, even going so far as to cancel the annual march of LGBT New York Police Department officers, and is working to “reduce” the presence of law enforcement because the NYPD “represents … violence.”