For Preston Horton, the MBTA Transit Police’s newly appointed deputy chief, serving the needs of over a million Boston-area commuters each day goes hand in hand with looking after the diverse Dorchester neighborhood he has called home for eight years.

“I have a very, very deep commitment to Boston and Dorchester,” he said in an interview with the Reporter. “I grew up in a tiny town, and everybody took care of everybody. I see a lot of that in Dorchester, but in a much larger way.”

Horton, who has lived in Savin Hill since 2008, said he loves the community’s eclectic mix of people and its working class roots. For him, it’s personal to keep the T safe for his friends and neighbors. “I really feel a responsibility to do the best that I can as a police officer because my loved ones and friends ride the T, and I live with people that count on it every day,” he said.

Horton was promoted to the rank of deputy chief of patrol in April, becoming the first openly gay member of the department’s command staff. He is responsible for all uniformed patrolmen, including the K-9 unit, SWAT team, and motorcycle unit, and also oversees special operations like the Boston Marathon.

Growing up in Cummington, Mass., a small farming town in the Berkshires with a population of about 800, Horton said he always knew he wanted to help others. His father and brother were firefighters, so he was surrounded by fire trucks and ambulances as a child.

Right out of high school, Horton pursued his passion for service by becoming an EMT. The pay wasn’t good, but he said he enjoyed seeing the impact his work had on the lives of others. He earned an associate degree in criminal justice from Holyoke Community College, and in 1989, he took a job in the city of Northampton’s police department, serving as an officer there for the next ten years. It was in Northampton that Horton said he began to confront the challenges he faced as a closeted policeman.

“As a small-town cop, you think you’re the only gay cop around,” he said. But then he heard from a friend about a support group based in NYC called Gay Officers Action League (GOAL). He attended a few meetings and later opened a New England chapter of GOAL in 1991 with three other gay police officers living in the region.

“It’s probably one of the best things I ever did,” said Horton, “because of the ability it offers to reach out to folks who are really struggling and be able to say, ‘you’re not the only one, you can live your life in a very honest way.’ ” When he eventually came out in 1991 at age 21, he was surprised by the response he received.

“I underestimated my co-workers in North Hampton,” he said. “They were super-supportive.”

Seeking a change of scenery, Horton transferred to the MBTA police force in 1998, and since then has risen steadily through the ranks. Lt. Richard Sullivan, who has worked with Horton for the last 15 years, said the deputy chief’s sense of integrity and honesty has made him a standout among his colleagues.

“He’s proud of himself. He has no apologies about who he is. And people just accept him” Sullivan said. “He’s an excellent guy, and above and beyond that, he’s very talented at what he does. I think he was an exceptional choice to be the deputy chief, and I think he’s going to bring many positive changes to the whole division.”