NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Sunday that cops being banned from marching in the New York City Pride Parade with their weapons is a “slap in the face.”
The comments from the top cop came before she marched in the Queens Pride with members of the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL), who have been barred from marching through Manhattan on June 27 with their service guns, which police say is a part of their uniform, something Tisch railed against.
“Once again, they banned NYPD officers from marching in full uniform later this month. That decision is as hypocritical as it is a slap in the face to the New York City Police Department and to the spirit of pride,” Tisch said, adding that cops risk their lives to aid strangers but are being denied the ability to march. “I call on New Yorkers to join me in speaking out against Heritage of Pride’s offensive and exclusionary stance on this issue.”
This marks the second straight year that Tisch has come to the defense of LGBTQ+ cops and half a decade since the organizer of the parade, Heritage of Pride, has been at odds with the department. The ban went into effect in 2021 and seemed to stem from issues organizers had with the NYPD response to the George Floyd protests, which saw protesters roughed up by cops as they demanded police reform.
— Dean Moses in NYPD Commissioner Tisch calls officers firearm ban from Pride Parade ‘slap in the face’