'Walking while trans' can be a death sentence in the U.S.

Washington Metropolitan Police Department Sergeant Jessica Hawkins, a transgender woman who leads the department's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) unit, speaks about her work at her office in Washington, U.S. October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sergeant Jessica Hawkins was a male cop for 20 years but it was not until her transition to a woman in 2014 that she understood the trepidation that transgender women feel across the United States.

"Transitioning has made me understand the fears of other communities that I did not have as white male," said Hawkins, 43, noting a difference in the way she is treated when off duty and away from her relatively tolerant city of Washington.