A police officer who came out as gay in 1996 is featured in an iconic and amazing photo that went viral yesterday on social media during yesterday’s Boston Marathon bombing explosions.
“The Police Officer to the far right is a good friend of Boston Pride!,” the Boston Pride Facebook page notes. “He is the Boston Police Gay Liaison to the community Javier Pagan”
“One of the First Responders who was miraculously standing right behind the flags where the first bomb went off—- Boston Pride would like to Thank Javier for all you do!,” Boston Pride wrote, adding in their subsequent Facebook post, “Boston Pride would like to thank all First Responders.
Dallas Voice reports:
The photo above, which shows 78-year-old marathoner Bill Iffrig lying on the ground, was shot by John Tlumacki of The Boston Globe, who talks about his experiences here.
Officer Pagan’s husband, Pedro, is a retired sergeant from the New York Police Department who rescued many people when the Twin Towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2011, according to a recent profile of Pagan by a Boston CrossFit site. He also escorted LGBT civil rights attorney Mary Bonauto to City Hall Plaza on May 17, 2004, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of marriage equality.
Pagan, a native of Puerto Rico who came out at 26 a year after joining the force, was profiled by the Bay Windows LGBT newspaper when he was named to the position in 2002.
The Boston Pride Facebook page notes they are “the official organizers of Boston Pride, Latin@ Pride and Youth Pride in Boston. Bringing our community together since 1970! Boston Pride is a proud founding member of InterPride.”
The image was posted to Twitter yesterday by Boston Globe Sports:
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Image by John Tlumacki/Boston Globe