Tonight, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri decided not to indict the police officer who shot Michael Brown. The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) expresses solidarity with Mr. Brown’s family and wishes for them peace and healing, and joins their family in a moment of silence to memorialize Brown’s life.
Transgender people know all too well that profiling of certain types of people by the police happens, especially to people of color, lower income people, young people and, of course, transgender people. Extensive violence against transgender people and others really happens—and sometimes at the hand of police. Trans people—particularly trans women of color—are frequent targets of both profiling and violence by police officers and others.
NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling said, “We need to do better than we have been doing as a society. If we live in a society where people do not object to a young unarmed Black man being killed, we can’t expect that people will object when a transgender person is targeted. We believe no one in any community is disposable and we believe that the authorities need to take every act of violence seriously, whoever is the victim, whoever commits the violence, and whatever the circumstances.”
Keisling added, “St. Louis native Dr. Maya Angelou once wrote that ‘there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’ Hopefully this tragedy will help us all understand that so many people in America have an untold story that much of America has been unwilling to hear, a story of stereotyping, disrespect and violence. We believe that America needs to hear the story that Black America, transgender America and other marginalized people are trying to tell. And citing another well known Angelou quote, America ‘should believe them the first time.'”
NCTE does believe the people of Ferguson and around the country who feel targeted for suspicion and violence.
NCTE will continue to advocate for greater oversight and accountability for law enforcement and for policies to end racial profiling and all forms of police bias and abuse.
National Center for Transgender Equality's Blog 
As long as religion condones slavery even in just its text, while it devide’s people up as faithful, sinners, nonbelievers,infidel’s and heretics Those of faith will always be prejudice and this includes law inforcement
None of us are safe if police officers are not held accountable.
Why did you have to put trans people into this issue? What’s happening in Ferguson isn’t about us. If you really honored the black lives lost and cared about whats happening right now you wouldn’t be detracting from it by trying to insert trans people into this.
Not everything needs to include us!
I’m sorry to say, we are affected. I was sitting in my car in a state supported parking lot, ID by 3 cops, 2 white and a black, as to being a white trans woman wearing a strapless dress, fully clothed, full cooperation. A black lady made a complaint of an inaccurate description that I was naked. But the bullying cops still proceeded to strip search me right there finding more clothing. Still arrested me under a false account of public indecency, with the description of a guy with a lewd behavior. Paid $5000 after 3 days in jail where I was verbally assaulted sexually again by a cop, and later humiliated through the St. Louis media. Was forced into a plea of criminal trespass on public property, which crime didn’t exist. I presented evidence that exonerated me from all this, but my lawyer and the ASA didn’t want to be bother by this anymore and wanted their cut from the blood money. Racketeering at the utmost. And to be called sir throughout this whole process.
It’s all about you isn’t it?