The Bloomington Police Department appointed two veteran sergeants to serve as LGBTQ liaisons.
BPD announced the creation of an LGBTQ Liaison Program in a press release Tuesday.
Detective Sergeant Dana Cole and Sergeant David Alley will be the first LGBTQ liaisons for the department, according to the release.
This comes after the Human Rights Campaign released its Municipal Equality Index for LGBT that gave Bloomington 100 points despite receiving a zero out of 10 for having no LGBT police liaison or task force.
The program is meant to help foster positive relations and build communication between the LGBTQ community and the police department, according to the release.
The two liaisons will work to provide resources and address issues or concerns related to hate crimes and public safety issues to the LGBTQ community.
Bloomington has the fifth largest per capita population of same-sex households in the United States and IU consistently ranks in the top gay-friendly campuses.
Cole is a 12-year veteran of BPD and is the sergeant in charge of the Special Investigations Unit. Alley is a seven-year veteran of BPD and is on the second shift patrol as shift supervisor.
BPD said it hopes the establishment of the LGBTQ Police Liaison Program will help it continue its commitment to representing and serving the diverse Bloomington community, according to the release.
Suzanne Grossman
