My client Charlie Tatton is a transgender male (assigned female at birth) who was, at the time of these events, undergoing testosterone treatment and awaiting surgery.
In September 2019 Charlie attended at Swansea Central Police Station, having been informed by his neighbours that Police Officers had earlier called at his address, and on arrival at the station, he was arrested.
Charlie was then detained for around 4 hours before being ‘processed’ for release, which included the taking of his fingerprints and a DNA sample. Whilst this process was ongoing, a female Custody Detention Officer (CDO) was searching the police computer system for data on Charlie, in the same room.
The CDO suddenly piped up “Right, what was your She Name?….. What was your She Name, ‘cause you’re a He Name now aren’t you?”
Charlie did not respond, as he found the question offensive, which resulted in the CDO accusing him of causing them “complications.”
Charlie then did offer his previous name, which caused the CDO to respond, in a grossly insensitive manner “So are you going through the process? Do you have the paperwork? So what about your bits? Are you male or female down there?”
The CDO then went on to badger Charlie about having “the right paperwork” to confirm his gender and continued to make unnecessary and offensive comments, which seemed to nakedly demonstrate the CDO’s distaste for/disapproval of transgender people including an accusation that it was “not nice” for male officers searching a transman not to know if he was, as the CDO put it, “a female [down] there.”
Charlie pursued a claim for breach of the Equality Act 2010.
In response to the claim, South Wales Police admitted liability for violating Charlie’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment for him, through the actions and comments of the female CDO and after lengthy negotiations and the institution of court proceedings.
South Wales Police agreed to pay settlement damages of £7,5000 and costs.
Name changed.
