Interacting with Increasingly Diverse Communities

4.75 (4 votes)

Recorded On: 06/16/2020


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In 2018, California’s Governor Brown signed a bill which requires P.O.S.T certified training and guidelines regarding sexual orientation and gender identity for all peace officers. While most Animal Control and Humane Officers do not fall under the P.O.S.T. training requirements, they are still out in the community dealing with the same diverse communities as law enforcement. Shelter personnel also interact with and serve the same community; however, rarely do we see training at animal conferences to help our staff better understand and interact with the myriad of cultures and communities coming through the shelter doors. 

We will focus on demystifying LGBTQI and other communities, along with identifying how to handle customer service interactions, field interviews, pat downs, arrests, and report writing in a way that will help attendees provide respectful service while upholding department and professional integrity.

This session is approved for
• CAWA CEs
• Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) CEs toward ACO CE requirements per Ch. 829 of the Texas Health and Safety Code
• NACA CEs


This session was recorded during the Spring Conference for Animal Welfare 2020. Learn about the full conference recording package.

And check out the free Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training Package which includes this recording.

Jace Huggins

Chief Animal Control Officer, City of Sacramento–Front Street Shelter

Jace Huggins Currently the Chief Animal Control Officer for the City of Sacramento, Jace has worked most pet-related jobs in his career, from retail pet stores to being an Intensive Care Unit Technician at the renowned UC Davis Small Animal Teaching Hospital. Jace loves working with his District Attorney and the Sacramento Animal Cruelty Task Force on cruelty cases and educating his regional team.

Michele Gigante

Police Sergeant, Sacramento Police Department

Sergeant Gigante has been a police officer for 21 years and supervises the Sacramento Police Department’s Research, Training and Development In-Service Unit. In her role she develops and organizes training for all SPD Officers. She also develops and assists in the implementation of training as it relates to LGBTQ+ issues. Sgt. Gigante has been SPD’s LGBTQ+ Liaison officer since the official implementation of the position at SPD, however, she has acted as the LGBTQ+ liaison for many years before that.

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