London police now admit they used the wrong name and gender when questioning a prominent transgender activist last week – but have not apologized.
On August 5, transgender activist and popular Twitch streamer Clara Sorrenti was woken up at her downtown home by heavily armed police who arrested her at gunpoint and confiscated computer equipment.
She believes it was a “swatting” incident.
Sorrenti believes someone posing as her online emailed a bogus threat to City Hall with intent to draw a dangerous police response to her home.
After being interrogated by investigators, she was released without charge.
As a transgender woman, Sorrenti says the horrifying incident was made worse by officers using her maiden name (also called “death name”) instead of her real name during the incident.
On Wednesday, Police Chief Steve Williams declined to be interviewed about how officers were treating Sorrenti, instead issuing a statement: “It has come to my attention that Ms Sorrenti was referred to by a false name and gender during her time in London police custody.
We recognize that this has caused distress for Ms Sorrenti and we will review the incident to understand how this may have happened.”
It was CTV News who briefed Sorrenti on the boss’s admission that mistakes were made.
“Actually, you were the first to draw my attention to the statement,” she told the police station after finding computers and a cell phone that had been confiscated by investigators.
Not included in Chief Williams’ statement was a direct apology, something that still bothers Sorrenti: “I think it’s obvious to everyone that this was not okay. I’m honestly shocked they didn’t apologize for what they did. “
London’s first openly gay councilor Shawn Lewis says after much progress has been made in building trust between the LGBTQ2+ community and London Police – using a false name and gender is a step backwards.
“We have to get it right when situations like this happen because when this type of incident happens it undermines community trust and it hurts an individual,” explains Lewis.
He is concerned that there may be a gap between diversity training and real-world behavior: “There is still work to be done, there is a difference between training and implementation.”
Chief Williams’ statement confirms London Police will learn and do better after “falling short at times”.
Sorrenti believes the level of humiliation she felt needs to be better understood.
“If you use a dead person’s name, you’re telling them you don’t respect them as people. That you do not respect their autonomy.”