Transgendered Female Takes a Beating

Things are getting ugly here in Memphis, Tennessee.

What is the world coming to when a woman can’t walk down the street without being picked up and beaten by the police?

Duanna Johnson, a 6-foot-5-inch transgendered woman, was arrested in February on a charge of prostitution. What ensued next is a nightmare that Johnson, 42, will never forget. For 18 minutes, Memphis police officer Bridges McRae beat Johnson because she refused to stand up. The whole incident was caught on a security surveillance video and was released last week by Johnson’s attorney.

The raw footage of the beating has outraged Memphians and the gay and lesbian community. The FBI has been called in to investigate and civil rights organizations vow to seek justice. They want the officer fired. Instead, for the past four months, McRae has been assigned to desk duty pending an administrative hearing.

Johnson is suing the City of Memphis Police Department for $1.3 million.

Johnson said she wasn’t “working” that night but was just walking down the street when McRae approached her and took her in for solicitation.

Johnson was born a male but has been living life as a female for the past 17 years. She said she is used to people staring at her but she has never experience such blatant disrespect and humiliation. She said McRae kept referring to her as “he/she” and “faggot” and she refused to answer him. When she told him that her mother did not name her “he/she” or “faggot,” that's when McRae lost it. He struck her several times with his fist and gloved handcuffs. Another officer restrained her while McRae beat and pepper-sprayed her.

The video shows other officers standing around watching the incident. Johnson said she called for help but no one came to her aid. A few minutes later, a nurse is called to the lobby. Johnson said the nurse repeatedly ignored her pleas for help.

Shelby County Sheriff Mark Lutrell, who oversees the jail, said that the nurse didn’t ignore Johnson, but performed a visual assessment of Johnson and determined the injuries weren’t life-threatening. A few minutes later, the nurse tended to McRae while Johnson rocked back and forth behind them.

Police Director Larry Godwin says he was sickened by what he saw on the videotape. “I was infuriated. I notified the FBI because they needed to investigate to see if this person’s civil rights were violated.”

An administrative hearing is scheduled for McRae next week.

I'll be keeping my eye on this case. Truly amazing. Had the videotape not been released, would the public have known about this incident? Most likely not.

How many corrupt cops and millions of dollars spent on lawsuits will it take before the city of Memphis and Shelby County government clean up its law enforcement agencies?