Events

Pride Behind the Badge: The History of LGBTQIA+ in Law Enforcement

In recognition of Pride Month, the National Law Enforcement Museum is launching its newest digital exhibit and companion public program, Pride Behind the Badge: The History of LGBTQIA+ in Law Enforcement. The Experience Pride Behind the Badge exhibit chronicles the contributions of LGBTQIA+ officers in the field of law enforcement to encourage the next generation to make the commitment to keep our communities safe.

The program, which will broadcast on June 28, 2023, at 2pm Eastern, will dive deeper into topics covered in the exhibit and highlight the perceived and real discrimination that lies within the law enforcement profession. Through this exhibit experience and program, we hope to help create a unified voice within the law enforcement profession that will ultimately lead to greater workforce development.

Throughout both the exhibit and public program, featured individuals share how they found support within the profession while also sharing their experiences as law enforcement professionals.

Viewers will have a greater appreciation for their fellow LGBTQIA+ officers while building an awareness of the initiatives that various departments are engaging in that have led to a more inclusive, effective, and productive workforce.

Moderator

• Greg Miraglia, Retired Deputy Police Chief, Napa Valley Railroad Police Department and current founder and president of Out to Protect Inc.

Panelists

• Don Mueller, Chief of Police, Cerritos College, California Police Department
• Julie Callahan, Retired Monterey County, California District Attorney Investigator and current founder and president of the International Transgender Community of Police and Sheriffs
• Anthony Kasper, Deputy Sheriff with the Solano County, California Sheriff’s Department
• Brandon Ragan, Lieutenant with the Orange County, Florida Sheriff’s Office

This program is generously sponsored by Target.

Greg Miraglia

Greg Miraglia is an LGBT activist, college professor of LGBT studies and criminal justice, author, radio host and producer, and professional speaker. He has a Master’s Degree in Education, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, and is a graduate of the California Commission On Peace Officer Standards and Training Master Instructor Development Program.

Mr. Miraglia is a Dean Emeritus at Napa Valley College and currently serves as the program coordinator for Criminal Justice Education and Training and LGBT Studies. He is also a part time member of the faculty at City College of San Francisco and Santa Rosa Junior College. Mr. Miraglia teaches six different LGBT studies courses and a number of criminal justice classes including introduction to administration of justice, community policing, 21st century policing, criminal law, and criminal procedures.

Mr. Miraglia serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Matthew Shepard Foundation and is also a radio program host and producer on Outbeat Radio, a weekly LGBT program on KRCB Radio. He serves as an HIV test counselor and educator for Face to Face in Sonoma County.

In 2021 Mr. Miraglia began serving as a guest instructor at the FBI National Academy and was the first to present LGBT awareness for law enforcement training in the FBI Academy’s history. Over the course of his 36 years of teaching experience, Mr. Miraglia served as a recruit training officer, academy coordinator and for ten years as the director of the police academy at Napa Valley College. He has over 35 years of experience in law enforcement with three different police departments working most recently as deputy chief of the Napa Valley Railroad Police Department.

In 2011, he authored curriculum for an accredited LGBT Studies Program now offered by Napa Valley College. This was the second program of its type offered by a California college. He expanded the program in 2018 to offer an Associate Degree. In July of 2013, Mr. Miraglia was awarded the “Dr. John W. Rice Diversity Award” by the Chancellor of the California Community College system for his work developing hate crime prevention and diversity education programs. He is a nationally recognized speaker and expert on LGBT issues in the law enforcement profession and education. Most recently, he authored Assembly Bill 2504 which provides LGBT awareness training for California law enforcement officers and 9-1-1 dispatchers. Mr. Miraglia developed the first certified LGBT Awareness For Law Enforcement online training course and a train the trainer program in response to this Bill.

After coming out himself in 2004, Mr. Miraglia decided to work with others in law enforcement who are still struggling with the pervasive homophobia that still exists in many areas of the law enforcement, the fire service, and EMS profession. He authored five books including Coming Out from Behind the Badge (3 editions) and American Heroes Coming Out from Behind the Badge.

Chief Don Mueller

Don Mueller has been the Chief of Police for the Cerritos College Police Department (CCPD) in Los Angeles County since 2020. Prior to joining the CCPD, Chief Mueller retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department with over 30 years of service. Chief Mueller is a nationally recognized expert in LGBTQ-related diversity training and policy development. In 2015, Chief Mueller was invited to speak at the White House by the Obama Administration regarding violence targeting LGBTQ persons around the world. Chief Mueller has assisted the U.S. Department of Justice in developing diversity training currently in use at the FBI, DOJ, and Secret Service, and has conducted LGBTQ diversity training for over 40 major law enforcement agencies across the country. Chief Mueller is a California P.O.S.T. certified instructor in Cultural Awareness and Sexual Harassment Training and is federally trained as a Hate Crimes Investigator Instructor. Chief Mueller loves to travel internationally with his husband, Oriel. In the past few years, they have skydived, scuba dived and ziplined in multiple countries around the world.

Julie Callahan

Julie Callahan is a retired police officer, detective, and district attorney investigator with a law enforcement career spanning four decades. She worked as a police officer and detective with the San Jose Police Department (CA) for nearly 30 years and then as a district attorney investigator with the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for almost ten years. Most of her career was spent working on high profile criminal investigations.

Julie transitioned genders while working at the San Jose Police Department in 2001; twenty years into her career. In the scheme of things, her transition went better than most and she attributes this to a combination of support from the Chief of Police, strong management techniques in setting expectations, and developing a strategic transition plan before she notified the agency of her intention to transition.

Julie was part of a research study in the late 1990’s along with about two dozen other transgender law enforcement officers from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the United States. The study included those officers that identified as transsexual or crossdressers. When the study was completed, the participants were afforded the opportunity to contact one another via an email chain. The members of that group were the founding members of the Yahoo Group called TCOPS which stands for the Transgender Community of Police & Sheriffs. The group focused on peer-support, education, and advocacy. TCOPS changed platforms in 2010 and became a Facebook group and updating our name to TCOPS International to reflect the 36 countries that are represented within our membership. We also broadened our membership criteria to include LEOs and LESPs that identify as transgender, crossdressers, gender non-binary, gender-fluid, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, gender questioning individuals, or any LEO or LESP that has had to deal with gender identity issues.

Today, we are aware of over 6,000 transgender LEOs and LESPs. TCOPS International continues to support our members through our stand-alone secure social media platform www.TCOPS-International.org . We provide peer-support, transition planning workshops and other services for any LEO, LESP, or law enforcement organization asking for help planning a transition or better understanding transgender issues. Our peer-support and related groups are FREE of change. Lastly, we do consult with public safety organizations, departments, and agencies and ask them to cover expenses and not our time.

Anthony Kasper

Anthony Kasper is a Deputy Sheriff for the Solano County Sheriff’s Office and has been a Deputy Sheriff since 2012. Throughout his career, he has worked in patrol, courts, and civil division assignments. Kasper currently serves as an instructor for my agency in a variety of topics to include; firearms, use of force, active shooter response, and other tactics. He is also the first out openly gay Deputy Sheriff in his office and thanks his exceptionally supportive co-workers and their supportive agency for allowing him to to be his true self. My coming out journey was not the worst, but neither the best. Deputy Sheriff Kasper believes that coming out in his early 20’s helped to teach him a lot of life lessons and learn many priorities in life.

Deputy Sheriff Kasper is truly grateful for the journey he embarks on in life and his career in law enforcement. After coming out, it was his goal to help those he can throughout his career. He recognizes that, even today, some stigma remains within law enforcement when it comes to working with the LGBTQ community, and supporting LGBTQ officers in the rank and file.

Brandon Ragan

Lieutenant Brandon Ragan grew up in Orlando and has worked at the Orange County (FL) Sheriff’s Office since 2003. He has worked as a patrol deputy, a Sergeant for School Resource Officers, Criminal Investigations, and Watch Command. He is currently assigned to the Strategic Communications Section. Lt. Ragan has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration and a Masters in Leadership and Management. He is the lead LGBTQ+ liaison for his agency and serves as the President of the Gay Officers Action League of Central Florida.