HS Alliance
A week after San Francisco first responders and the city’s mayor said they would skip this year’s Pride Parade due to organizers’ new ban on uniformed officers, the London Mayor’s Office Breed said Thursday that a compromise would allow a small group of police officers to walk. in uniform.
Members of the Officers Pride alliance, including LGBTQ members of the San Francisco Police Department, as well as firefighters and sheriff’s deputies, had said they would boycott the June 26 parade following the decision not to allow officers to wear their uniforms, which would have taken effect. for the first time this year.
On May 23, Breed said she, too, would skip the parade in support of law enforcement and first responders who she said were unappreciated for their work.
The policy stems from the 2019 parade, when anti-business protesters blocked the road and were arrested by police, who activists have accused of excessive force. Conversations about the incident became strained in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, and parade organizers decided that in order for community members to feel safe, uniformed police would not be permitted to participate in the 2021 parade. This parade has been canceled due to COVID-19.
The compromise announced Thursday by Breed’s office will allow a small group of uniformed officers to participate, while other officers will be allowed to march in casual, police department-approved Pride attire. Command personnel can wear uniforms with a limited number of duty officers, Breed said at an event kicking off Pride Month at City Hall.
Breed said various law enforcement agencies and first responders have come together with parade organizers to reach a compromise that “is a symbol of the love that brings us together.”
“We’re family again,” Breed said.
SFPD Officers Pride Alliance officer Kathryn Winters said law enforcement officials were grateful for the compromise deal.
“It’s the result of two productive years of conversation,” Winters said by phone. “I think it’s important that we were able to come together and come to an agreement that allows all LGBTQ San Franciscans to walk.”
San Francisco Pride, the parade’s organizing committee, and the Alliance of Pride Officers celebrated the decision in a joint statement.
“Pride grew out of disputes between the LGBTQ communities and the police at the Compton Cafeteria and the Stonewall Inn. Since then, we have tried to bridge that gap,” the groups said. “That’s why we are grateful to have reached a compromise solution today. It shows that everyone is working in the spirit of Pride to come together. We have agreed that all first responders will walk together as one. single quota.
The Pride Parade Organizing Council, Pride Officer Alliance, San Francisco Human Rights Commission and San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey will form a task force that will meet regularly during the next year with community groups on how to better strengthen and support the LGBTQ community, according to Breed’s office.