Leaders with the San Francisco Trans March presented a letter to Mayor Daniel Lurie on Monday morning in response to what they said was a disproportionate use of force against marchers in June.
Over 100 people rallied in support of the letter in front of City Hall. Many wore pink, blue and white, the colors of the trans flag. Volunteers held a Trans March banner on the steps. Between speakers, they shared a link to add signatures to the letter.
Speakers at the rally said the letter was prompted by disproportionate force used by San Francisco Police officers against trans community members at the annual march on June 26.
Renee Coe was a speaker at Monday’s rally who described her experience at the end of the Trans March at the intersection of Turk and Taylor streets.
“As I stood there, taking it all in, and watching our elders and our children dance in the streets, the streets that we fought for, I started to hear screaming and shouting,” Coe said.
She said a squad car drove into the crowd and police in full riot gear pepper-sprayed the crowd and arrested six trans community members. This wasn’t far from the site of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot in the city, an important event in LGBTQ+ history held in response to police harassment of trans people.
The San Francisco Police Department said the arrests were for vandalism with paint along the route of the march.
“The SFPD always respects individuals’ First Amendment rights to protest,” said Officer Robert Rueca. “However, criminal activity will not be tolerated in San Francisco.”
Rueca also said the department is “unwavering in its support for the LGBTQ+ community.”
The Trans March’s letter called upon city leadership to drop all charges against those arrested at this year’s march and adjust the city’s budget to invest more in community-led safety initiatives instead of the Police Department.
“When we come back for Trans March in 2027 — because we will come back with more joy and more power and more people than ever before — we demand that the city replace all police presence with civilian traffic control,” said Coe.
After their meeting with the mayor, Trans March Co-Director Niko Storment and others exited City Hall and approached the mic on the steps to update those assembled.
“Our task now is to keep them accountable to continuing that conversation,” said Storment. “Because nothing has been promised yet.”
Charles Kretchmer Lutvak from the Mayor’s Office said Lurie is deeply invested in the safety of trans San Franciscans.
“We are committed to cooperative efforts to ensure our LGBTQ+ community members can safely participate in Trans March and other Pride celebrations,” Lutvak said. “That’s why we invited trans community leaders and city leaders to City Hall today to initiate a series of conversations that will take us toward safety and visibility for our transgender community in San Francisco.”
Saint Rasmussen was a supporter at Monday’s rally. He went there to be present for his community, he said. He was at the Trans March and said the policing was overboard.
“At the end of the day, we are still trans people who are being policed. It is treated as if it is a crime to be us and we are not safe within our communities,” said Rasmussen. “It was in the same area as the Compton’s Cafeteria riot. I guess that times are still very tumultuous for trans people.”
