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Post by admin on Sept 24, 2009 13:48:58 GMT -5
SUPPORT POLICE OFFICER DANI LEE HARRIS The recent controversy surrounding the raid at the Atlanta Eagle continues. The investigation will reveal if Officers acted inappropriately and if they did, I’m sure they’ll be dealt with effectively. And if in fact, patrons of the bar were engaging in sex or taking drugs, that will come out too. The Atlanta Police Department GLBT Liaison, Police Officer Dani Lee Harris was not part of the raid. Whether or not she should have been made aware of it before hand is open to debate. Investigations of a confidential nature and certain raids and search warrant executions are not generally shared with other than those involved, for obvious reasons. Dani apparently did not become aware of the raid until after it was done and she responded to the bar and the community the next day to address the concerns of both. That is what I’ve read. It is pretty much standard procedure that was followed. Obviously though, there are people who will never accept her role as a liaison, calling her a pawn of the Department, etc. And Chief Pennington has been a vocal supporter of GLBT people and of GLBT Law Enforcement professionals. I’m a witness to that.
Atlanta Pride has named Officer Harris as well as Reverend Clay Glaser as Grand Marshals for this year’s Pride Parade. They are to be applauded for this move. Unfortunately some people in Atlanta have trouble differentiating between Officer Harris and the raid. There have been some vicious and unkind comments about Dani in the latest editions of Southern Voice online. Some have been so ugly in that they go to the very core of her being. Personally, I am disgusted by some of what I read. I’m posting a link to the latest article which is a statement from Atlanta Pride, in support of Dani Lee. But I want you to read the reader’s comments to see some of the venom directed at her. And then I’d like you to register at Southern Voice and post comments in support of her. She should not have to be victimized and vilified in the manner in which she has been.
Blue Pride stands behind and supports Police Officer Dani Lee Harris as an effective and worthy liaison to the community in Atlanta. I hope other groups around the country express their support as well. You can express your support on SoVo and here on Blue Pride as well. Please read the other threads and stories about Police Officer Harris on Blue Pride and in other areas of the internet. Link to article: Atlanta Pride issues letter in support of police LGBT liaison as grand marshal
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2009 15:52:35 GMT -5
I think the criticism that I read is totally uncalled for.
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Post by bluepride on Sept 25, 2009 10:05:50 GMT -5
I've been trying since yesterday to register at SoVo but I keep getting little glitches. Hopefully, it'll be worked out later today. I'm looking forward to having Dani Lee on the show on October 4th.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2009 10:22:25 GMT -5
I'm also having trouble registering on SOVO as well. I'll keep trying. It's important that we all post something supportive of officer Harris.
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Post by bluepride on Sept 26, 2009 10:19:39 GMT -5
I was finally able to log onto SoVo and I posted a short comment. If you do log on, you have to keep the comments rather short. I think mine was on point, if I say so myself!
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Post by bluepride on Oct 29, 2009 13:57:51 GMT -5
Officer Dani Lee Harris Won't Wear Uniform In Atlanta Pride Parade Officer Dani Lee Harris, LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Deparment and one of the grand marshals for the Atlanta Pride Parade, said today she will not wear her uniform during the parade due to backlash from the Sept. 10 APD raid on the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar. Harris said her 10-year-old son, who will ride in the parade with her, was concerned about her safety. “My biggest concern is the safety of my son and out of respect for him I will swallow my pride,” she said. Harris intended to wear her uniform in the parade despite outcry from some who were angered by her selection as a grand marshal because she was representing the APD. The Atlanta Pride Committee selected Harris before the raid but announced the selection afterward. She was selected as grand marshal in large part for coming out last year as intersex in a story in SoVo. “I’m flabbergasted,” she said today. “Why people can’t realize this is about 21 officers out of 1,700 officers, and [the raid] is still under investigation. But I will come out of uniform. "They got this one,” she said of those angered by her being a grand marshal. Today on the website www.atlantaeagleraid.com, Eagle co-owner Robby Kelley, who was arrested during the raid, posted a letter to the Atlanta Pride Committee asking Harris to not wear her uniform in the parade. The letter reads in full: Link to article: Officer Dani Lee Harris Won't Wear Uniform In Atlanta Pride ParadeIt's a shame that some of the small-minded members of the gay community in Atlanta have basically forced Police Officer Dani Lee Harris to make the decision to not march in uniform. And it shows what a class act Dani Lee is. Her son fears for her safety, probably rightly so. If anyone so much as throws any object, spits or otherwise taunts her for doing her job and being who she is, the entire Atlanta Police Department should come down on Atlanta and make them feel their presence. I was not at the raid, obviously, and neither was Dani Lee. But the venom and vitriol she's been experiencing since then is dispicable. It makes me ashamed of the community in Atlanta. They're just as bad as the ones who taunted them (allegedly) during the raid. Ef 'em. As far as I'm concerned, the GLBT community in Atlanta has no class.
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Post by flblue09 on Oct 29, 2009 21:02:28 GMT -5
It's unfortunate that the department she works for can't afford an honored officer enough security for her son and herself for the event.
It says a great deal about the city's mind-set as well as the department's mind-set and abilities.
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Post by bluepride on Nov 2, 2009 12:46:44 GMT -5
Atlanta Police LGBT Liaison To Wear Uniform In Today's Atlanta Pride Parade Officer Dani Lee Harris, LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Department, will wear her uniform in today's Atlanta Pride. Harris is co-grand marshal along with Pastor Chris Glaer of the parade that steps off at 1 p.m. from the Atlanta Civic Center and courses through the city down 10th Street and into Piedmont Park. Thousands are expected to be watching the parade. Harris's decision comes after this week announcing she wouldn't wear her uniform due to backlash from some in the LGBT community over having the police represented in such a high-profile manner during the Atlanta Pride parade after the controversial police raid of gay bar the Atlanta Eagle. Harris said this morning she changed her mind at the last minute to wear her uniform to represent the APD and the out officers who will be riding in the parade today. She added she had the right to change her mind at the last minute. "They are out here in uniform for me, and I want to be out there in uniform for them and the APD," she said. Link to article: Atlanta Police LGBT Liaison To Wear Uniform In Today's Atlanta Pride ParadeGood for you, Dani Lee! Glad to see that you didn't let that bunch get the better of you. I'm sure the crowd was in their "uniforms" too. Underwear, ripped jeans, feathers, boas, etc,etc. You did Law Enforcement proud, Dani Lee!
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Post by TheBear on Nov 2, 2009 14:46:51 GMT -5
An enthusiastic THREE CHEERS for Dani Lee!
There may have been a learning curve here for many. We as LGBT persons can either stay mad and perpetuate divisiveness OR we can do the hard work to make our lot better. By being OUT and PROUD and VISIBLE, we as LGBT LEOs can take the high road toward improving relations within our departments AND with the community, straight and gay.
I bet Dani Lee looked GREAT IN UNIFORM!
Bear _____________________
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Post by ScottNbama on Nov 3, 2009 12:16:45 GMT -5
I too am glad that she decided to participate in uniform. For a GLBT officer to be able to do that in the south is amazing in and of itself. I don't think I'll be patronizing the eagle bar on my next trip to Atlanta. I think things could have been handled better. I agree, there is a lack of class shown.
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Post by alarmallama on Nov 4, 2009 12:46:44 GMT -5
I'm glad to hear that Dani Lee Harris wore her uniform. I found this great picture of her on Flickr in the parade: l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceball.gifVery cool! Attachments:
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Post by bluepride on Nov 5, 2009 16:36:34 GMT -5
This is a video from Atlanta Pride from the day before their parade. Dani Lee is in it and is received well and makes an excellent appearance before the crowd. It makes me feel just a little bit better that she seems to have at least a little support from the bar owners. And, me being me.... I can't help but wonder if the dignified, upstanding 40 and 50-something men in the audience are standing there in their underwear.....( I had to get that dig in. Forgive me....or don't....)
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Post by bluepride on Nov 10, 2009 11:22:34 GMT -5
An article about Dani Lee, from the end of October. How awesome is Dani Lee??!!! A Grand Marshal Who Is ‘Uniquely Different’ AS A GRAND MARSHAL of this year’s Atlanta Pride parade, Officer Dani Lee Harris, the LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Department, had hopes to wear her uniform proudly despite the controversy surrounding the APD’s recent raid of the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar. But when activists became angered again this week over her participation in Pride, and the concern she said her son had for her safety is she wore her uniform, she decided on Tuesday not to wear her uniform. “My biggest concern is the safety of my son and out of respect for him I will swallow my pride,” she said. “I’m flabbergasted,” she said Tuesday. “Why people can’t realize this is about 21 officers out of 1,700 officers, and [the raid] is still under investigation. But I will come out of uniform. "They got this one,” she said of those angered by her being a grand marshal. Harris was not involved in the Sept. 10 raid and didn’t learn about it until contacted by the media the morning after it occurred. The outcry from LGBT citizens that followed forced Chief Richard Pennington and top brass of the APD to hold a police conference where Pennington acknowledged Harris should have been involved in the investigation of the gay bar from the beginning. But all that is over for right now, Harris said, and now is the time for the community to come together. “How hypocritical can we be at times?” she said. “We get upset because of people stereotyping us and I feel the same when I’m in blue. For everyone to take all the good officers and clump them in with the bad, that’s discrimination. They’re looking at the uniform and not the individual.” Harris, the first intersex grand marshal of an Atlanta Pride parade, said fellow LGBT people had asked her not to wear her uniform in the parade and she initially refused. Link to full article: A Grand Marshal Who Is ‘Uniquely Different’
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Post by bluepride on May 20, 2010 10:14:47 GMT -5
Community Leaders Raise Questions About New Atlanta Police GLBT Liaison Complaint filed by Officer Dani Lee Harris against department Office Patricia Powell, the Atlanta Police Department’s new LGBT liaison, met with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community leaders in her first public event this morning. Powell said she took the job because “I need to do this for myself, for the department. This is my way of giving back.” Approximately 20 members of Atlanta’s LGBT community attended the roundtable discussion with Powell this morning at the Atlanta Public Safety Headquarters. They included Atlanta City Council member Alex Wan, transgender activists Tracee McDaniel and Cheryl Courtney-Evans, Atlanta Pride Executive Director JP Sheffield and Pride Board Chair Cain Williamson, Glen Paul Freedman, representatives from Lambda Legal, and attorney Dan Grossman. Lambda and Grossman represent patrons of the Atlanta Eagle in a federal lawsuit alleging their constitutional rights were violated by APD officers who raided the gay bar in September. Several questions were raised by attendees at this morning's meeting that could not be answered by Powell; Reese McCrainie, deputy director of communications for Mayor Kasim Reed; or even Deputy Chief Ernest Finley. The questions include: • How will Powell’s position be integrated with Officer Dani Lee Harris, the current LGBT liaison? • Although Harris is officially on medical leave by the department, why was she not at the discussion this morning? • What about the LGBT Citizens Advisory Board — what is its makeup or does one even still exist? Grossman asked why Harris was not at the meeting today and asked if the department truly had two LGBT liaisons as Reed promised when he took office. “Do we really have two?” Grossman asked. McCranie answered that the meeting this morning was simply to introduce Powell to the community and that Harris was not invited because she is on medical leave. Harris files complaint against APD Harris called the Georgia Voice today to say she was not told of the meeting and would have been there if she could have been. “I didn’t know about the meeting and I want to say I was never relieved from work medically because my doctor said I can work, but APD is not allowing me to return to work and it is not medical,” Harris said. Read article here: Community Leaders Raise Questions About New Atlanta Police GLBT Liaison Could the Atlanta PD be retaliating against Dani Lee for stating her disappointment at not being notified of that raid last year? Hmm...something seems a little fishy here. We wish Dani Lee the best. She's a class act.
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Post by bluepride on Sept 15, 2010 9:36:53 GMT -5
Former Atlanta Police LGBT Liasion Alleges Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation Dani Lee Harris, who was once the Atlanta Police Department’s LGBT liaison but has been on medical and administrative leave since April, filed a complaint with the Atlanta Citizens Review Board alleging sexual discrimination and harassment from a civilian employee of the APD. CRB Executive Director Cristina Beamud informed the board Thursday about the complaint as part of the board’s “intake” — deciding which cases it will ask staff to investigate. The CRB had to dismiss the case at Thursday’s meeting because it does not fall under the board’s jurisdiction, explained Beamud. Harris’ complaint alleges an APD employee used abusive language and discriminated against her based on her gender identity and sexual orientation. Harris came out publicly as intersex several years ago. “She feels she has been discriminated against because of her sexual orientation. This issue is rather serious,” Beamud said. “The most notable violation was the language she was subjected to but that was uttered by a non-sworn employee. And the whole issue of discrimination in the workplace is not within this board’s jurisdiction.” Read article here: Former Atlanta Police LGBT Liasion Alleges Discrimination Based On Sexual OrientationIt is such a shame that Dani Lee has been treated so shabbily since the Atlanta Eagle raid. First by the LGBT community and then by the Atlanta Police Department. This is horrible.
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