In a letter this week, Uthmeier explained that the department’s guidance says searches should be conducted by an officer with the same “gender expression or identity” as the person being searched.

In a letter this week, Uthmeier told Gainesville Police Chief Nelson Moya that the department’s guidance says searches should be conducted by an officer with the same “gender expression or identity” as the person being searched.

If an officer is “uncertain” about a detainee’s gender expression or identity, the policy directs the officer to ask the individual for their preference, according to the letter.