Gay Dallas law enforcement officer wounded …
As the nation reels from the carnage that took place in Dallas after a lone gunman killed five police officers and wounded 9 others – word is coming out now that one of those injured was a gay Latino Officer named Jesus Retana.
An online piece in the Dallas Morning News discusses how Retana and his husband Andrew Moss – who is a former DART officer – helped the effort to get domestic partner benefits for employees of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Police Department.
Rafael McDonnell: a communications and advocacy manager for Resource Center, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organization — shared the following on Twitter:
One of the DART officers hurt in Thursday's shooting is a friend. He & his husband worked w/me on getting partner benefits at DART in 2013.
— Rafael McDonnell (@RafDFW) July 8, 2016
DART President Gary Thomas shared with the Dallas Morning News that he visited Retana and another injured officer at the hospital just before Retana was released.
“I told them we’re thinking of them,” he said. “We’re praying for them and we’re here to support them.”
As reported by LGBTQ Nation:
“The shooting took place during an otherwise peaceful protest against police violence, held in response to the officer-involved killings of two black men in two days — Philando Castille in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana.
Also wounded during the shooting — in which a lone gunman told negotiators he was upset about the recent police shootings of Black men — was Shetamia Taylor, an African-American civilian and mother, who took a bullet to her leg while protecting her son.
Taylor’s sister, Theresa Williams, told the Dallas Morning News Taylor went to the Dallas protest to “show her sons that it’s OK to stand up for who you are and what you believe in,” and expected that people would “come together, be peaceful, communicate with one another” and “show that violence doesn’t get you anywhere.”
It is important to note that The Black Lives Matter movement has officially and strongly condemned the tragic attack while continuing to demand two important things: accountability and transparency and in deaths of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement.
“This is a tragedy–both for those who have been impacted by yesterday’s attack and for our democracy,” the reads the BLM statement.
“Black activists have raised the call for an end to violence, not an escalation of it. Yesterday’s attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman. To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible. We continue our efforts to bring about a better world for all of us.”
A Reuters video captures the horror of what transpired as shots rang out against police. Gay Pop Buzz wishes a speedy recovery to Officer Retana and to all who survived. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those who died.
h/t Towleroad and LGBTQ Nation
