“I remember asking God a couple of times as a child why I wasn’t born a boy,” Officer Budd said.
“Like any other rookie, you want the guys to know you as a good cop,” he said. “Nothing else.”
Officer Budd feared that his identity would keep him from being accepted into the fraternity of police officers. “I didn’t want to be judged before they got to know me as a person,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a science project.” Still, he pushed ahead. These days, the New York Police Department embraces “Out and Proud” as a motto. Officials boast of the hundreds of gay officers who help make up the department’s ranks. And inside Police Headquarters, on the monitors that serve as electronic bulletin boards with fliers for retirement parties and charity golf tournaments, among the rotating messages is one reminding officers of their rights to use the bathroom or locker room aligning with their gender identity. The public support by police officials in New York has come at a time when the nation is grappling with transgender issues — when lawmakers in some states have pursued so-called “bathroom bills” limiting restroom access for transgender people, but also when such legislation has met with fierce resistance. His (Budd) struggles with identity had been a source of pain and confusion. As a teenager, he was outed as a lesbian when his mother found notes from a high school crush. After high school, he enlisted in the Army as a woman, but that was in the era of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a policy that allowed gay and lesbian soldiers to serve, but not openly, and he said he was discharged after almost a year because of his sexual orientation. (After the policy was rescinded, he re-enlisted as a reservist, still as a woman.)
Shown above, is an excerpt from the article “Transgender on the Force” published by the New York Times in August 2016. While the article discusses a few openly transgender individuals, the focus is on Officer Aiden Budd who is featured in the above photo. Aiden is one of only two active open transgender officers serving in the NYPD today. I chose to feature Officer Aiden Budd because although I do not know him, I have friends who have had the privilege of meeting this officer and hearing his story and knowing his struggles. Officer Budd is truly inspirational to the LGBT community. In a time where powerful politicians debate the value of this officer’s life, determine what rights he can or cannot have, and tell him he doesn’t belong, he continues to put his uniform on each and every day and go to work in a masculine driven occupation to protect his city while being openly transgender and living his life as authentically as possible. Each and every day he goes to work willing to give his life for the citizens of New York, some of which disagree with who he is, some who invalidate his existence, and some who think he shouldn’t be allowed to wear the badge. Officer Budd has paved the way for all officers after him who feel like they are not who they should be and who may be struggling with their own identity while working on the police force. He also sends a clear message to the LGBT community specifically the trans community that they are accepted by the NYPD, they do matter and they can become police officers and be successful.