Long-time activist Nicole Murray Ramirez has been elected chairperson of the San Diego Chief of Police’s GLBT advisory board. Early this month, Police Chief William Lansdowne announced that, because of budget cuts and a lack of police manpower, he would be transferring all of his community liaisons to new assignments within the department.

Sergeant Mark Dallezotte, who has served as the GLBT community’s liaison for close to three years, will now be working in the child abuse division and Sergeant Bruce Pfefferkorn, of the SDPD Western Division that encompasses a large portion of Mission Hills, Hillcrest and the North Park areas, will be working more closely with the GLBT community.

“We’re not saying one position is better than the other, but Chief Lansdowne really wants to put a lot of the responsibility of what happens in a division back on the shoulders of the division’s captains and lieutenants,” Dallezotte said about his reassignment in a recent interview with the Gay & Lesbian Times. “I will still have some collateral duties, and I will be available on the phone, but I will be scaling back a lot of my regular duties that I had before.”

Former San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano established the advisory board during his tenure as the city’s top cop. While reassigning the community liaisons, Lansdowne has recognized the importance of the minority advisory boards and will be looking to them for more guidance in the future.

“The chief made it clear that the advisory boards serve a valuable resource to his office and he will continue to keep the LGBT advisory board,” Dallezotte said. “With my position being gone, I think we will have to look [to] the board, and when there is an issue that needs to be delivered directly to the chief, they have the access to the chief’s office without any filtration through the rank structure within the department.”

Murray Ramirez, who assisted in the establishment of the GLBT advisory board to Bejarano, will now serve as the first elected chairperson of the police chief’s advisory board.

“In the 1970s homosexual citizens were harassed, beaten and had our bars raided by the police department in San Diego,” Murray Ramirez said. “While we have witnessed great changes and a much better relationship with both Chiefs Bejarano and Lansdowne, there is still room for improvement, and the advisory board and I look forward to building even better relationships and communication with Chief Lansdowne and the San Diego Police Department.”

Doug Braun-Harvey was elected vice-chair of the advisory board. Other community members serving on the board include Rev. Tony Freeman, Tom Felkner, Jess San Roque, Jan Garbosky, City Commissioner Julia Legaspi, Dr. Al Best, Stan Lewis, Joanne Miller, Cheryl Robison, A.J. Davis and Attorney Lauri Stock.

Assistant Chief of Police Adolfo Gonzales will be overseeing the GLBT advisory board, as well as all of the other advisory boards representing minority communities for Chief Lansdowne. Lansdowne has committed to meeting regularly with all of the chairs of his advisory boards and personally attending all of the advisory board meetings.

“In all reality the recent re-organization of the Police Chief’s advisory boards gives its chairs and members more access and direct communication with the chief,” said Dr. Al Best.