Portland Cops Rip ‘Hilariously Ridiculous’ Training on How to Interact with ‘LGBTQIA2S+ and Queer Communities’

Portland police officers didn’t hold back when asked for anonymous feedback about new training videos designed to teach them how to interact with the city’s “queer community.”

The videos were “hilariously ridiculous” and a “colossal waste of time,” one officer wrote. Other adjectives included “patronizing,” “childish,” “offensive,” “garbage,” and “unnecessary.” One officer wrote that the videos were “indoctrination masquerading as training.”

“This training is vile,” another wrote. “God made male and female. Not hard to figure out.”

Now, those officers are under fire for expressing what one city consultant deemed “problematic ideologies” that have “no place within” the Portland Police Bureau.

The Oregonian newspaper recently described the officers’ remarks as “derogatory.” And a report from consultant Dennis Rosenbaum’s firm said that some of the feedback was “indicative of racism, ableism and white supremacy.”

But a National Review analysis of the roughly 250 comments released by the city found virtually no evidence of “racism, ableism, or white supremacy” — not surprising, considering that the training had little if anything to do with race or physical ability.

Instead, it appears that what the consultant has deemed “problematic” is that some of the 900 Portland officers who were mandated to take the training last year forcefully expressed traditional views on sex and gender, and that they haven’t fully bought into the cultural agenda pushed by gay and transgender activists in the far-left city.

Rosenbaum, a city-hired consultant, told the Oregonian that some of the officers’ comments were “pretty extreme,” and that changing the bureau’s culture “has to be a higher priority.” His firm, which has overseen the bureau’s compliance with a federal settlement agreement since 2015 and is paid $440,000 annually by the city, has said that the officers’ feedback shows the need for even more equity training.

When reached on the phone by National Review last week, Rosenbaum declined to comment, saying, “I’m not going to talk to the media right now until we get this matter resolved.”

The three training videos in question were rolled out by the bureau’s Equity and Inclusion Office as part of a new directive, “Interacting with Members of the LGBTQIA2S+/Queer Community,” that includes instruction on how to address people who are transgender.

The video series starts with comments from bureau leaders, including Chief Chuck Lovell, expressing their support for the initiative.

“There’s been some real challenging issues that have come up between the police and the LGBTQIA2S+ and queer communities,” Lovell said at the beginning of the first video. “So, I think having this policy shows that we’re willing to address this, we’re willing to work hard to have better relationships, and that it’s a priority here at the police bureau.”

At the beginning of the series, the bureau’s equity-training specialist, Laura Rosenstein, states her pronouns — “she, her, and hers” — and describes herself as a “cisgender woman, which means that my gender identity conforms with my sex assigned at birth and the gender norms of the dominant culture here in the U.S.”

In the videos, police bureau staffers are taught that it is wrong to “guess or assume a person’s gender,” that pronouns may change over a long period or “it could be the next day,” and that the ever-expanding LGBTQI2S+ acronym is increasingly being replaced with the term “queer community,” which includes “people who engage in kink, polyamory, and sex work.”

The first two videos feature clips of members of the LGBTQ community talking about how they want to be identified. The third video is interactive and includes crudely animated scenarios.

One officer wrote that the animation looks like “an early 90’s episode of South Park.” Others said that the “cartoons were just plain childish” and that “having this content presented to us in this way feels like there is an implication that we are children.”

After watching the videos, bureau staffers were asked to provide feedback, including on their biggest takeaways, the formatting of the videos, and how to make the training more engaging.

Not all of the feedback was negative. One officer wrote that it was “thought-provoking” and “essential.” Another wrote that “I didn’t learn much new” because “I am already a member of the community in question,” but “it’s good to know and learn about how the bureau is handling it.” Another employee appreciated the training because “I have a [family member of this community] and I look forward to all of PPB members listing their pronouns in their sig block.”

Some complained about glitches in the videos and subjects not looking directly at the camera. One commenter critiqued the “very mundane and monotone” presentation style of Rosenstein, who hosts the videos, and whose “passion and excitement” is “truly lacking.”

But most of the comments were negative.

“Not a good use of my time,” one officer wrote, a common refrain. “This training is best delivered in no format,” and “LOL @ these trainings,” others wrote.

Some officers took issue with the politics and the “woke agenda” they believe is being pushed by the bureau. One staffer wrote that the “biggest takeaway is that the people that make decisions within the police bureau are marxist ideologues trying to destroy the bureau.” Another wrote that the bureau is “pushing people away with this BS. Myself and many others are looking for new jobs because Portland is exhaustingly woke.”

Other officers took issue with transgender ideology generally. “FYI its either male or female . . . period,” one wrote. At least one employee took issue with the grammar of identifying a singular person as “They.” Another said that “my biggest takeaway is that Queer-theory is a pseudo-reality” and a “cult-like ‘reality,’” and that the bureau’s new policy is “asking members to lie by accommodating an observable delusion.”

Some members took issue with the bureau’s acceptance of the word “queer,” with one describing it as “a word I find very offensive.” At least one LGBTQ member also pushed back on the use of the word “queer” and on the training generally, writing that it “was an embarrassment to me personally.”

But even among members who criticized the training and transgender ideology, several wrote that they are respectful to everyone they encounter. “The assumption that I need to be TAUGHT this information because you think I am going to treat people worse or better due to their orientation is insulting,” one officer wrote.

“I don’t care who you screw in your free time or if you identify as a chicken — I’m going to listen, be respectful, treat you with compassion, and work my hardest to help with whatever situation is going on,” another wrote. “We are short-staffed, we are behind, we are barely treading water trying to stay afloat out here and nothing is more insulting than having to stop and watch a video of rainbow-haired people talking about how they don’t know what gender they are.”

One of the animated scenarios presented in the videos even acknowledged that some people don’t buy into transgender ideology. In the scenario, a citizen who is reporting a stolen bike gets frustrated when asked by an officer how he identifies. “What? Why are you even asking me that? My name is Mark, I’m a man. This is ridiculous. Everything is so PC. I’m over it.”

Rosenstein, the equity-training specialist, called it a “complicated conversation.”

“We know it isn’t going to be smooth sailing every time,” she said in the video.

The only anonymous comments that seem to address race in any way involved one of the video subjects who was speaking in front of a home with rainbow stairs and a Black Lives Matter sign in the window. Several officers described the inclusion of the sign as inappropriate and offensive, referring to social-justice riots that occurred for months on end in the city after George Floyd’s killing in 2020.

“Black Lives Matter is a political organization that funded the assault and attack of officers nationwide as well as officers here in Portland,” one member wrote. “The insertion of this background in this video pushes a political agenda and once again is highly inappropriate.”’

“The presence of that flag brings a lot of trauma up for the members of this organization who had to endure over 100 nights of continued abuse from individuals who operated under that flag,” wrote another bureau member.

In a report on April 11, Rosenbaum’s firm wrote that the “anonymous survey feedback from some officers was indicative of racism, ableism and white supremacy.” When asked about that statement, in light of the actual comments that don’t seem to focus on race at all, Rosenbaum said that “we’re going to clarify that in our final report,” declining to elaborate.

When reached by National Review, a spokeswoman for the Portland Police Association declined to comment on the depiction of its members in Rosenbaum’s report.

Rosenbaum’s report notes that the police bureau “cannot control a member’s thoughts but only their behavior on the job.” However, it continues, “the City informed us that they would respond to the problematic ideologies expressed in the surveys, but as of the writing of this report, we have yet to see a response. Making Equity training a higher priority is one important way to address these biases.”

A police bureau spokesman declined to comment on the anonymous feedback and what, if any, efforts bureau leaders would make to investigate the anonymous surveys or to take action against officers who were critical of the training.

“As difficult as unfiltered feedback can be, anonymous responses serve the purpose of informing policy and training decisions without the threat of discipline, and commenting on anonymous responses could have a chilling effect on valuable feedback,” Lieutenant Nathan Sheppard wrote. “We remain committed to creating an inclusive environment and serving the City with respect and compassion.”