A man who wants to be identified as a woman has filed a complaint against a Fort Lauderdale police officer after the cop pulled him over for drag racing and labeled him as a male on a reckless driving ticket.
The drag-racing enthusiast who received the ticket is 48-year-old real estate agent Shelby Kendall, reports the Sun-Sentinel, the main newspaper out of Fort Lauderdale.
The cop facing a disciplinary hearing is James Brinton.
Kendall’s exciting drag race — an event which he reportedly does not dispute — occurred back on Jan. 28. Kendall was racing his black Chevrolet Camaro against a Mustang on State Road 84, a four-lane public road.
Brinton witnessed the drag race and followed Kendall’s muscle car into the parking lot of a Winn-Dixie grocery store with his police lights blazing, according to a police report.
At some point during the traffic stop, Kendall moved his car. Brinton became concerned that Kendall might be escaping. Kendall says he was clearing the way for another driver to enter a parking space.
In any case, Brinton then cuffed Kendall and searched his Camaro.
Next, Brinton, prepared a reckless driving citation for Kendall.
A police computer automatically completed Kendall’s personal information, including his biological sex.
The automatically completed portion of the citation listed Kendall as a female because Kendall had successfully petitioned the state of Florida to have “female” be the sex designation on his driver’s license.
Kendall also began a gender transformation process in 2014.
Brinton changed the word “female” to “male” on the citation.
Kendall objected.
“Well, for the purposes of this citation, you’re a male,” Brinton told Kendall, according to an investigation report.
The details of Kendall’s gender transformation process status are unclear, but he believes he should receive no “flak” from police.
“If I’ve done everything I need to do for the state of Florida to recognize me as a female, he doesn’t have a right to purposely mis-gender me,” Kendall told the Sun-Sentinel. “It was inappropriate, and kind of bullying, and sends a message to the transgender community.”
Michael Rajner, a local gay activist, said police need to receive more training to handle traffic stops involving Camaro-driving transgender drag racers appropriately.
“He robbed that individual of her dignity,” Rajner told the Sun-Sentinel.
In a statement about the reckless-driving incident, Fort Lauderdale police chief said the police department “is committed to the equal treatment of all of our neighbors and visitors.”
Brinton’s hearing before a local citizens police review board was scheduled for Monday.
Investigators have suggested that the police officer receive a written reprimand.
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