Celena Morrison, who was the first openly transgender person to lead a Philadelphia city office and who made national news in March following a controversial traffic stop, is no longer the city’s head of LGBTQ affairs.
It was not immediately clear why Morrison is no longer in her job with the city, but a spokesperson for Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration confirmed that her employment ended Thursday and that officials are searching for a replacement.
The spokesperson would not offer further comment, citing the administration’s policy of not commenting on personnel matters.
Morrison’s departure was first reported by the Philadelphia Gay News. Attempts to reach her Monday were unsuccessful.
Former Mayor Jim Kenney appointed Morrison to be the executive director of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs in 2020. Prior to that, she was a longtime advocate and member of the city’s Commission on Human Relations, and she worked in several roles at local organizations for the LGBTQ community.
In March, Morrison and her husband, Darius McLean, were controversially pulled over and arrested by a state trooper. Morrison videotaped part of the incident, showing the trooper detaining McLean on the shoulder of I-76 while he was begging to be released.
In the video, Morrison can be heard saying, “I work for the mayor,” and the trooper appeared to respond: “Shut the f— up.” When the trooper moved to arrest Morrison, she could be heard saying, “He just punched me.”
Pennsylvania State Police said the trooper had initially pulled Morrison over for multiple traffic violations, including driving with an expired and suspended registration, before the heated confrontation ensued.
Neither Morrison nor McLean was charged in connection with the incident, and the trooper was later fired, according to the union that represented him. State Police did not publicly identify the trooper or confirm that he was fired.
After video of the incident circulated on social media, Parker called it “very concerning.”
Since then, Morrison has kept a relatively low profile. A few weeks after the incident, the city’s Annual Trans Day of Visibility flag-raising event was canceled, a move the Parker administration said was due to “a variety of logistical concerns.” In an open letter, Morrison didn’t say why the event was nixed, but she acknowledged “challenging times.”
