NEW YORK (PIX11) -- “I am very proud of being a New York City Policeman, and I am equally proud of being gay.” Those were the words of Sergeant Charles H. Cochrane, Jr., who became the first publicly gay New York City police officer in 1981.
Four decades later, Lieutenant Ana Arboleda is proud to be an openly lesbian Latina police officer in the country's biggest police department.
Arboleda walks the hallways of 1 Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan with pride.
“Being who I am is always appreciated here in the NYPD and also outside of the NYPD because, at the end of the day, I am just me. I’m going to be Ana internally and externally,” said Arboleda.
Being comfortable in her skin was not an easy road for Lieutenant Arboleda. She joined the NYPD in 2009 as a cadet. She tells us she wasn’t open about being a lesbian back then because she didn’t know if the organization was going to accept her.
“So many things have changed; not only has this department progressed, but society has changed. We literally have every representation within the department. We have transgender officers; we have non-binary officers,’ added Arboleda.
PIX11 News asked her about the biggest challenge of being a gay police officer.
“The biggest challenge to being a gay police officer, the same challenges that I probably face outside for being a gay woman, is the same challenges I probably face here. I can have a challenge for being a woman, I can have a challenge for being Hispanic, and I can have challenges for being a gay woman,” Arboleda responded.
This Latina woman has faced adversity from a young age. At 16, she was kicked out of her house for coming out to her parents.
“My message to 16-year-old Ana keep pushing. It gets better, and every single day, I always push to be better, and I’m grateful for that experience because it made me who I am today,’ stated Arboleda.
Arboleda has since rekindled the relationship with her parents.
“It is sad to say, but it is very common in our community not to be accepted at first, rejected for being who we are. Is almost like the coming out story to many people,” she added.
With a master's in public administration and as an FBI National Academy Graduate, she was appointed LGBTQIA+ Liaison to the Police Commissioner in 2021.
“Part of what I do is to listen to the community concerns and bring them internally with my partner and we figure out how we can make that better how can we make it as an agency better. It is no secret everything that is going on around not letting cops march is that balance that we need to find, and it is that balance that I’m constantly seeking, and I’m eager to find for the community to understand that at the end of the day, I am and I’m also a police officer.” She explained.
In addition to being a police officer, she carries two other titles with pride: wife to Faidy, whom she married two years ago. They’ve been together for 11 years. She’s also a proud mother to twins Oliver and Bruno, who were born two months ago.
“It’s a journey and, as you know is quite a journey to build a family. It is the most beautiful thing that our community could do. Now I’m a very very happy to be a proud mom.”
Arboleda said joining the NYPD has been better than what she envisioned when she began her career.
“I know being inside this department, I can be all of that, I can be a mom, a police officer, I can be a woman, I can be a Hispanic woman, so it is actually better than what I envisioned.”
Arboleda wants to continue making the police department better and bridging the gap between the NYPD and the LGBTQ+ community.
English (US) ·