Their love story is arresting.
A husband and wife who are both cops were promoted together at a heartwarming NYPD ceremony Friday — with one spouse taking the badge number of her retired hero Emergency Service Unit officer dad.
“He was always my hero so I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Gina Buscemi, 33, said of her father, James Buscemi, 70.
“I’m very proud to wear the same shield and keep the legacy in the family.”
Buscemi, 33, of the Midtown South station was promoted from police officer to sergeant while her husband Joshua Rios, 42, got the boost from lieutenant to captain.
He has been working at the 113 Precinct in Rochdale, Queens, but doesn’t know where he’ll be assigned next.
Buscemi was awarded the same sergeant shield number worn by her father who served for more than 33 years as a New York City cop — during which time he responded to 9/11 and worked on a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) team that helped with the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people in 1995.
“Now my daughter wears my shield and my shield number, 378. I’m very proud of her and proud of my son-in-law,” the elder Buscemi said. “It’s special.”
Buscemi and Rios were honored at New York City Police Academy in College Point, Queens, along with roughly 300 other cops who received promotions Friday.
The lovebirds in blue, who have two daughters ages 2 and 6 months and met on the job through mutual friends.
“We met at a bar after work at a group outing and hit it off,” said Rios, as his wife beamed next to him.
They were married roughly five years ago and live in Seaford on Long Island.
“[It’s]unheard of,” Rios said about getting promoted on the same day as his wife.
Buscemi said she was inspired to become a police officer after seeing her dad deal with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“9/11 really had a big impact on me. Just what happened was obviously very sad and I was very happy my dad came home. He lost a lot of his friends that day,” she said.
Asked how he felt when he learned his daughter wanted to become a police officer, he quipped, “I was like ‘Oh no. Oh my God.’”
“It’s a big step going from police officer to sergeant. It’s supervising other officers, it’s a big responsibility, and you go up from there. Up and up,” he said.
“She worked very hard to get it. She did a good job.”