When retired Officer Jim Ritter was hired by the Seattle Police Department in 1983, no one asked about his sexuality.
Ritter feared police departments wouldn’t hire him because he’s gay – a fear he said was exacerbated when two Seattle police officers led a failed effort to overturn protections for LGBTQ people in the late 1970s. After he was hired, he waited a decade before coming out, first telling his chief who was “supportive,” then his squad, which was “accepting.”