‘There needs to be a voice in there’: New SPD LGBTQ+ liaison officer aims to improve community relations

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Savannah Police Department has appointed a new LGBTQ+ liaison officer aimed at improving relationships with the community. This follows a deadly shooting earlier this year that fueled calls for change.

Officer Samantha Trentacosta, who has been with the Savannah Police Department since 2022, was recently appointed to serve as the department’s LGBTQ+ liaison. The position had previously sat empty for some time. Trentacosta is a member of the LGBTQ+ community herself.

“As I got more involved in the community, I was like, well, there needs to be a voice in there,” Trentacosta said.

The relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and police has been troubled, dating back to the early 1900s when bathhouses were raided, and gay people faced discrimination from police.

The need for improved relations was highlighted in Savannah last spring after the killing of a Savannah Pride Center volunteer. 29-year-old Chris Allen Villegas Fentress was shot and killed by a man who witnesses said hurled anti-gay slurs at him. Police charged the man with murder, but not with a hate crime.

“After Chris died and the way that was handled, it was clear to me that we needed a way forward to be able to work with police to better handle and get hate crimes investigated or taken differently than they have been in the past,” said Michael Bell, executive director of the Savannah Pride Center.

Bell says the Pride Center started a training program for police about six months ago. Staff at the center trained 20 SPD officers on safe space training. The training included having officers learn about pronouns and the history between the LGBTQ+ community and police.

“There’s a lot of trauma connected with policing and the LGBTQ+ or marginalized communities. And that’s why they were there, to learn more about issues facing the LGBTQ+ community,” Bell said.

Trentacosta says she wants the LGBTQ+ community to feel comfortable coming to police, noting that many crimes go unreported.

“I just want to make sure that they understand they’re not alone. I’ve already been through a lot myself being discriminated against with, you know, starting as my transition,” Trentacosta said.

She says that she wants the community to know that she’s available. Whether someone needs to talk, is worried about something, or feels that they’ve been discriminated against.

You can find Officer Trentacosta’s contact information here.