The NYPD was left feeling blue after a contingent of officers was again excluded from Sunday’s Pride March through Manhattan.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) stood in protest at the colorful celebration on Sunday, fuming that LGBTQ+ members of the department were once again prohibited from walking the route in uniform.
Standing alongside the parade route on 20th Street and 5th Avenue, Tisch joined the GOAL contingent, which has been banned from marching since 2021 in the wake of the George Floyd protests the previous year. Although it has been several years, Tisch told amNewYork that she felt she needed to speak out on the exclusion.
“The Heritage of Pride has once again decided to exclude our gay officers from actually participating in their parade today,” Tisch said. “A march that ironically celebrates inclusivity, visibility and these officers standing behind me, who have been pillars of police reform in the community for decades have been excluded and told that they are not welcome to march in the uniform that they wear, plain and simple.”
The parade organizers say they left GOAL out of the march because they do not want officers to carry weapons along the route.
“GOAL, the Gay Officers Action League, asked for an exception to our weapon policy so their members could march in their full dress uniforms – which includes the concealed carry of their firearm,” a Heritage of Pride spokesperson said. “Our membership voted this year to continue our policy for all marchers without any exceptions for GOAL or other organizations.”
Cops are pushing back against this, arguing that law enforcement officers assigned to protect elected officials who participated in Sunday’s march have concealed guns with them anyway.
In an interview with amNewYork, NYPD Chief of Department John Chell called the exclusion disgraceful.
“We think it’s quite disgraceful and a height of hypocrisy to exclude us,” Chell said. “Hopefully next year we’re having a different conversation. But in the meantime, for the millions of people around here celebrating pride, it’s a nice day. It’s a good day. We keep them all safe.”
Detective Brian Downey, President of the Gay Officers Action League New York, said that he feels Pride is about inclusion and not feeling ashamed of who one is or what one does for a living.
“For me, it was the most liberating experience that I ever had in my life when I got to stand up and tell society that I’m here and I’m working inside the system,” Downey said.
“The last few years, we stayed silent. We had some conversations that ultimately were not meaningful. This was the first year when things were being revisited, that we felt that there was genuine, meaningful conversations. We have absolutely no ill will towards New York City Pride. We hope that this march today is a successful symbol of protest as it always is. We hope that it’s a safe day for everybody involved,” Downey added.
While officers were banned from marching in their uniforms with their service weapons, the NYPD had a truck showcasing officers in uniform holding Pride flags all along 5th Avenue and in front of Stonewall Inn.
Tisch, meanwhile, says she has the GOAL officers’ back.
“They have been fighting for reform in policing for decades, and it is my pleasure and my honor to stand with them as they seek to be included in a march that celebrates visibility and inclusivity,” the top cop said.
