Married Gay Man Among Police Officers Shot in Dallas

Jesus Retana, a police officer for Dallas's transit system, was one of seven law enforcement officials injured by a sniper on Thursday; five died.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

Read Full Bio

Neal Broverman

July 09 2016 2:42 PM EST

July 09 2016 2:45 PM EST

Nbroverman

Sorry to interrupt...
But we wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading. Your support makes original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Help us hold Trump accountable.

One-time Monthly

$19.67 $50 Other

$5 $19.67 $50

The country is still reeling from Thursday's sniper attack at a Dallas protest against police brutality where five police officers were shot dead and seven more injured (two civilians were also hurt). The Dallas Morning News reports one of the officers injured was a gay man named Jesus Retana.

Retana, 32 (pictured, left), is a Dallas native and 10-year veteran of the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) police department. Since being shot on Thursday, he's been released from the hospital and is recuperating at home with his husband, Andrew Moss.

After Moss, a fellow officer, left the Fort Worth police force after falling ill in 2010, the couple successfully pushed for DART to extend health insurance and other benefits to same-sex partners and spouses.

The couple, married in 2008 in California, have declined to speak to the media, citing safety concerns.

Micah Xavier Johnson acted alone in Thursday night's shooting spree at the protest against police brutality in downtown Dallas, officials say, and his intent was to kill as many police officers as possible. Johnson was apparently motivated by this week's high-profile police shootings of African-American men -- Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota -- and had a history of mental instability.