[CONTENT WARNING: This article contains video recordings of the violent arrest of a transgender woman by police.]
“This is going to continue to happen. Trans people are going to be targeted. The sheriffs won’t be held accountable… Because our legislators don’t care about us.”
— Annie Jump Vicente, reflecting on her arrest a week prior.
On December 7th, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department arrested Annie Jump, a West Hollywood resident and police abolitionist, who was returning home to her apartment with her groceries. The sheriffs had apparently arrived to investigate a completely separate domestic violence call, which had turned out to be a false report. As Annie explained to us, there actually had been ongoing domestic violence in the building, but the survivor had left earlier that morning; hence, without a genuine exigent circumstance, the sheriffs required either a warrant or an invitation to enter the building. On her way into the apartment, Annie thus refused entry to the sheriffs, who subsequently grabbed and handcuffed her, slammed her head into the nearby wall, and detained her.
As Annie had to keep reminding the sheriffs, she is a trans woman, and yet the sheriffs persistently misgendered her before, during, and after the arrest. They also claimed that she was impeding their investigation, though they had no right to enter the building. Part of this encounter was caught on film by Annie’s roommate.
A later video was also published online, at which point 10 sheriffs had arrived and Annie was being held face down outside of a police vehicle. After Annie berated the sheriffs for doing nothing to stop domestic violence and for continuing to misgender her, she can be seen being carried off into the nearby vehicle.
At no point did the police read her Miranda rights, at no point did they tell her that she’s under arrest or being detained, and at no point did they command her to stop resisting. Annie’s injuries were not adequately treated, and since we last spoke to her, she said she’s had a persistent headache ever since. She maintains that the way she was mishandled and abused by the sheriffs was not only a violation of her rights, but was also motivated by transmisogyny — and she further speculates that the sheriff’s hostilities towards her may have been retribution for her political activism, in which she has repeatedly demanded the city council to defund the sheriff’s department.
As it stands, anyone would be well within reason to distrust LASD and to treat them as a potential danger. It’s been long known that violent deputy gangs operate from within LASD — in fact, the city’s civilian oversight commission recently acknowledged this formally, though they wouldn’t even entertain the idea of firing the deputy gang members. Gang members or not, the police and deputies are well known for their violence and discrimination. On another occasion, Annie’s leasing agent had threatened to kick her out of the apartment because she’s transgender; Annie had attempted to report this incident as a hate crime, but the sheriffs refused to take a statement. In fact, this isn’t even the first time the sheriffs have investigated domestic violence in the building. According to Annie, the sheriffs had been to the apartment on seven other occasions responding to a domestic violence call, and each time they did nothing about it — again, not even taking a statement. If sheriffs are well known for their violence and scarcely known for helping, could anyone honestly blame Annie for not permitting the sheriffs entrance to the apartment? We hold that they could not!
We interviewed Annie a week after her arrest, and she was able to tell us more about the circumstances leading up to and events following her arrest.
Members of the Lavender Guard will be meeting Annie along with the WeHo Social Justice Coalition to demand the new city council members to fire the deputies who arrested Annie and adopt a progressive agenda. For those local to LA county, you can help support the struggle by joining us at the city council meeting (625 San Vicente blvd, West Hollywood) on December 19th at 6pm and stand in solidarity with Annie Jump. If you’re feeling confident, please give a public comment demanding the deputies involved be fired and the Council adopt The People’s Agenda.
