D.C. Police Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit Gets Full-Time Sergeant

Members of the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit

The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit has its first full-time supervisor since 2009.

“Sgt. Matthew Mahl has replaced Sgt. Carlos Mejia, who had been serving as supervisor of both the GLLU and the Latino Liaison Unit,” the Washington Blade reports. “LGBT activists, while praising Mejia for his work at the GLLU, have long called on police officials to name a sergeant to head the GLLU who spends all of his or her time assigned to the unit.”

However, a departmental memo refers to Mahl’s work “while he is detailed to the Special Liaison Division,” making it unclear whether his appointment is temporary or permanent, the Blade reports. The Special Liaison Division includes the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit and three others. The Blade could not get clarification by press time.

Also, recently the department called on LGBT groups and the Anti-Defamation League to assist in its response to a rash of hate crimes. Read more coverage here.