Javier Pagan, the openly gay police officer captured in an iconic photo responding to the tragic bombing of the Boston Marathon earlier this year, is featured on the latest issue of Sports Illustrated commemorating the Red Sox’s World Series win.
Pagan appears alongside his fellow officers Rachel McGuire and Kevin McGill, whose bravery was immortalized by Boston Globe photographer John Tumlacki, and game MVP David Ortiz.
Getting the four heroes together was “kind of a big deal in Boston,” according to Brad Smith, SI‘s director of photography.
“I think what really tied it together was a mutual admiration and respect. You have three police officers, (and) I can’t imagine a world where they’re not Red Sox fans, and they get to meet the biggest sports star in that city,” Smith told USA Today.
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“And for Ortiz, who’s a big baseball player, he gets to meet people who are actually heroes — people who put their lives on the line in a very tragic day in Boston.”
Pagan came out at 26, just one year after joining the force, and for the past 12 years he has also served as the Boston Police Department’s liaison to the LGBT community. His husband Pedro is a retired NYPD sergeant who helped rescue victims of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
h/t: Boston.com
Kangol
Nice photo!
EvonCook
Beautiful words for beautiful people. Makes one even prouder to be GAY!