Gay cops

I have no idea how I found what I think was the only gay bar in the city. Growing up without any queer role models, Scirotto is fully aware of how important representation is within the city of Pittsburgh. Somehow, I wasn't arrested.

Police Officers Protest Pride : Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch (waving) protested with members of the department’s Gay Officers Action League at the New York City Pride March

Lt. James Tracy worked at the Englewood Cliffs police department for 10 years before he revealed to his colleagues that he was gay. In fact, the department is preparing to hire its first transgender officer. A lawsuit he filed against Fort Lauderdale was dismissed.

By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. After I graduated from college, I worked briefly in the Pittsburgh area and usually met my friends in downtown Pittsburgh for happy hours. Chief Scirotto — who reminded me that the name of the bar was Pegasus — used to enter incognito, under a hat pulled tightly down over his head.

During those formative years, Scirotto didn't know another gay person, and he grew up terrified that someone would find out that he was different.

(Maine) It’s something I very strongly want to do and am aggressively pursuing. And I stayed cop connected with those officers, even to this day. It was upon his first visit to Pegasus that Scirotto first interacted with the queer community.

Gay Cops Hi guys, In the process of applying for and pursuing a job as a LEO. I have spent almost 18 months doing ride alongs and learning as much as I can about what the job entails, talking with many different LEOs across my state as well.

And I quit wearing it, and here Gay am today. He was first sworn in as a Pittsburgh police officer inand inhe retired early as an assistant chief after coming up through the ranks and serving in various leadership roles in the department. Then it got to a point where Scirotto was able to leave his decoy hat at home.

For a brief time after he left Pittsburgh, he was the police chief in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Scirotto said he promoted those officers on merit. Since Scirotto was named last May, the number of homicides has fallen by 21 percent year to date, and nonfatal shootings are down by 17 percent.

He was called back to Pittsburgh by Gainey after a nationwide search. For them, it was just part of the day, but it was such a big deal to me and where I'm at today. But I do know one night, I went down the wrong way on a one-way street buzzed, and a cop car, with lights blazing, met me head-on.

Gay always think about how important that one moment was in my life. I’m also a homosexual. Scirotto, who was born and raised in the Steel City, was nominated by Mayor Ed Gainey to be the city's new police chief one year ago this month and confirmed by the City Council.

And one day, there were some police officers driving down the street I lived on, and they decided to get out and talk to a group of kids I was with. In a pre-Stonewall era, gay bars were relentlessly raided and targeted by cops, contributing to a painful history of anti-gay cop that New York’s police commissioner publicly.

The world in which you think you live is much different when you get outside of the world in which you live. And Scirotto offered some words of wisdom for anyone who might be struggling with their sexuality, as he did.

And then that hat didn't matter anymore. Eventually, I just got a lot more comfortable with the community and got more comfortable being myself.