Local
D.C. officer accused of anti-trans assault
Police chief says incident under investigation
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2010/12/dcmetro8811.jpg)
D.C. police last week arrested a transgender woman for spraying a chemical repellent into the face of a man who she says called her names and assaulted her before identifying himself as an off-duty District police officer.
Chloe Alexander Moore, 25, was charged with simple assault following a 2 a.m. incident on Dec. 1 along the 1500 block of K St., N.W. According to court records, Officer Raphael Radon alleges that Moore squirted him with pepper spray in an unprovoked action following a brief exchange of words.
But two police sources said a sergeant and detective who responded to the scene determined through interviews with witnesses that Officer Radon initiated the altercation and may have committed a bias-related assault against Moore.
The police sources, who spoke on condition that they were not identified, said a night supervisor apprised of the incident by phone while at her office at the First District D.C. Police station overrode the recommendations of the sergeant and detective and ordered that Moore be charged with simple assault.
Officer Radon was not charged in the incident.
A police report filed in court identifies the supervisor as Capt. Michelle Williams, who was acting as the First District watch commander. The police sources said Williams gave the order to charge Moore in the case while speaking to officers on the scene by phone.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said this week that the departmentās Internal Affairs Bureau was investigating the incident.
āBoth the officer and the arrestee received medical treatment in relation to the occurrence,ā Lanier told the Blade in an e-mail. āAdditionally, this matter was properly reported as per our protocols and is already under investigation. Rest assured we will also address these allegations in our investigation.ā
Moore, whose legal name is Alexander Moore, was taken to the First District at 101 M St., S.W., for booking and later to George Washington University Hospital before being transferred to the police Central Cellblock at 300 Indiana Ave., N.W., where she remained until being taken to court.
Court records show she pleaded not guilty before a D.C. Superior Court magistrate and was released on her own recognizance. She was scheduled to return to court on Dec. 13 for a status hearing.
Moore told the Blade the incident began when she and a female transgender friend were walking along the 1500 block of K St., N.W., and crossed paths with the man later identified as Officer Radon. Moore said Radon was with two friends, a man and a woman.
āWe didnāt have a lighter and we see a gentleman who had a cigarette lit,ā Moore said. āMy friend goes and asks for a light and he said, āHey ladies, how you doing?ā And we said weāre doing fine.ā
According to Moore, as Radon got closer to the two he realized they were transgender.
āHe was like, āIām not going to give you a light because youāre a man,āā said Moore, who added that Radon suddenly became hostile and began making disparaging comments about her appearance, especially the dress she was wearing.
āHe said he could see my dick and my balls. And he was very hostile and angry and I was afraid of what he would do and then he pushed me,ā Moore said. āNot knowing if he was going to really hurt me I got real scared and in self-defense I pepper sprayed him.ā
Moore said she immediately ran from the scene, with Radon chasing after her for nearly two blocks.
āHe grabbed the back of my neck and he throws me on the ground,ā Moore said. āMy midsection was on the curb and he puts his knee in my back real hard, and it caused a lot of pain.ā
It was at that time, according to Moore, that Radon pulled out his badge and identified himself to her as a police officer. Within seconds, she said, uniformed, on-duty police officers appeared on the scene. Minutes later she said she was placed in handcuffs and a short time later placed inside a police car.
āWe stayed out there about three hours after it occurred, waiting to see what was going to happen,ā said Moore. āThe police were talking among themselves and trying to make up their minds what they were going to do.ā
She said the officers initially ignored her request that they call an ambulance to examine her because she was in pain from being knocked down by Radon.
Eventually an ambulance arrived, but she observed Radon getting inside and being taken away.
āHe was saying his eyes were burning,ā she said.
A police report filed in court says the incident began about 2:05 a.m. and that Moore was placed under arrest at 4:26 a.m.
āAt approximately 0426 the undersigned officer was ordered to place D1 [Defendant 1] under arrest for simple assault,ā says the report prepared by an officer identified only as B. Dass.
āThe order was given by the 1D Watch Commander (Capt. Williams) through Lt. Dykes. āThen D1 was transported to 1D for further processing,ā the report says.
The report gives Officer Radonās account of what happened, saying he told an officer responding to the scene that he was approached by ātwo transgenders who engaged him and [Witness 1] and [Witness 2] in conversation.ā
According to the report, Radon said the two transgender women asked him for a cigarette light and then asked him where he was going.
āItās unclear which witness pointed across the street to a club,ā the report says. ā[Moore] then stated, āWe have everything better than where youāre going for $10,ā the report said Radon told officers at the scene.
āOfficer Radon then told [Moore], āNo thank you, I am not into guys.ā āAnd told [Moore] āYou donāt know who youāre talking to,āā the report says. ā[Moore] then pulled out a can of pepper spray and sprayed Officer Radon in the face. Officer Radon then pulled out his MPDC credentials at which time [Moore] ran [eastbound] on K Street,ā the report says.
āOfficer Radon gave foot pursuit and then an apprehension was made in the 1400 block of K Street. Both Witness 1 and Witness 2 collaborated [Radonās] statements,ā the report says.
But the report says two other witnesses backed up Mooreās version of what happened. One of the two apparently is the transgender woman who was with Moore. The report, which does not identify any of the witnesses by name, suggests that Witness 3 may have been standing nearby and was not with any of the others involved in the incident.
āWitness 3 recounted the same story as D1 [Defendant 1āMoore],ā the police report says.
Local attorney Dale Edwin Saunders, who practices criminal law in the District, described as āhighly unusualā the decision by police and the United States Attorneyās office to charge Moore in the case.
āThis person would have never been arrested or papered if the complaining witness had been a civilian,ā Saunders said. āThe defendant had two witnesses corroborating her version of the events.ā
The U.S. Attorneyās office, which prosecutes most criminal cases in D.C., could not comment because it’s a pending case, according to spokesperson William Miller.
Moore, who said sheās unemployed, acknowledged that she had been arrested on an unrelated solicitation for prostitution charge on Nov. 20 along the 300 block of K St., N.W., in an area known to be frequented by transgender prostitutes. She called the arrest unjustified and said she is challenging it in court.
She said sheās also planning to file a police abuse complaint against Officer Radon and was in the process of seeking assistance from Transgender Health Empowerment, a transgender advocacy group.
Transgender activist Jeri Hughes, who is on the T.H.E. staff, said transgender women who canāt find work, often due to anti-transgender bias, sometimes turn to prostitution āto survive.ā Hughes said the facts surrounding Mooreās interaction with Officer Radon strongly suggest her arrest was a āmiscarriage of justiceā and called on police to thoroughly investigate the incident.
Radon could not be immediately reached for comment.
Virginia
Man went on āhomophobic rantā inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/07/Justin_Wayne_Hendricks_mugshot_insert_courtesy_Fairfax_County_Police_Department.jpg)
The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a āhomophobic rantā inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
āLast night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,ā the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. āHe then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,ā the posting continues.
āOur manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,ā the message says. āWe want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,ā the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being ādrunk in publicā and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
āOn Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,ā a Vienna police statement says. āUpon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,ā according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldnāt immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
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Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
āYou know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,ā Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
āIt was a great year,ā he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.ā
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/07/20240629_Iya_Dammons_at_street_naming_ceremony_in_Baltimore_insert_courtesy_Iya_Dammons.jpg)
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimoreās 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women ānavigating survival modeā living.
āThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā the statement says. āOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottās Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
āThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. āIya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,ā it says. āThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā
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