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San Diego History Center LGBTQ Exhibit Leads To Law Enforcement Diversity Training

A timeline from the LGBTQ+ San Diego: Stories Of Struggle and Triumphs exhibit at the San History Center on July 12, 2018.
Kris Arciaga
A timeline from the LGBTQ+ San Diego: Stories Of Struggle and Triumphs exhibit at the San History Center on July 12, 2018.
It started with an exhibit on San Diego's LGBTQ history. With the help of San Diego Pride, it grew into a diversity training program for San Diego County sheriff's deputies.

A chance conversation between an employee of the San Diego History Center and San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore resulted in a unique training program for law enforcement. It turns out that the History Center's exhibit on the history of San Diego's LGBTQ community provided the perfect backdrop for training law enforcement officers on diversity to learn how to better serve the LGBTQ population.

Deputies and other staff from the sheriff's department have been undergoing the twice-monthly training for about a year now.

RELATED: New Exhibit Depicts Struggle, Triumphs Of San Diego’s LGBTQ Community

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The History Center brought in staff from San Diego Pride to craft the training, which hundreds of deputies and other staff have now completed.

Jen LaBarbera from San Diego Pride and San Diego sheriff's deputy Jacob Hernandez joined Midday Edition on Monday to talk about the program and the effect it's had.

KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.