Policeman played ‘Dude Looks Like a Lady’ while questioning trans woman
A police detective has been given a warning for playing the song ‘Dude Looks Like a Lady’ while interrogating a homeless transgender woman.
Ohio woman Robin Adelmann alleges that the song was played by Lakewood Detective Thomas McLaughlin, while she was being questioned on suspicion of shoplifting in December.
Ms Adelmann says that officers openly mocked her for her gender during questioning, playing the Aerosmith song as well as Kinks song Lola, which is about a trans woman.
She told Clevescene: “I look at the detective [questioning me] and I’m like, ‘You know why he’s doing that, right?’ And the detective was like, ‘Hey, what can ya do?'”
“I live in a homeless shelter, but things have been going well for me.
“I’m really loving the fact that I decided to transition and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. But some of this is really difficult.
“I hear that kind of stuff on the street every single day, no matter what.
“So when I heard it from a professional police officer who is supposed to protect us, it was just too much.
“Every transgender person wants to be left alone. We want to blend back into society and be who we are. We don’t even want you to notice us.”
McLaughlin has been given a verbal warning over the incident, and has been ordered to undergo sensitivity training.
However, they were reinstated just months later.
