On October 1, the NYPD arrested Justin Adkins and other Occupy Wall Street protesters who had marched onto the Brooklyn Bridge. Writing publically about his arrest, Justin describes that he was singled out by police because he is a transgender man. Justin reports being verbally harassed by officers, isolated from the rest of the people he was arrested with, and treated differently from the others with regard to bathroom accommodations and food provisions. Justin stated, “I was handcuffed to a railing next to a restroom for at least 8 hours, made fun of, and not given food. No human deserves to be treated this way. What happened to me should be investigated thoroughly and I want to make sure that no one else has to go through the ordeal that I did in police custody.” AVP is deeply concerned and is working to support Justin Adkins around this incident. We recognize that these conditions can put LGBTQ people—and especially transgender community members in danger. We are also reaching out to the NYPD and other community groups to determine how we can best support our community.

 Read the full text of the community alert.