Laurence Dollimore
THE hot cop who sent Twitter into a meltdown last month has finally been revealed.
It comes after a tweet shared by the police force featuring the chiselled policeman went viral, with thousands of likes and shares.
It caused a nationwide manhunt as press from around the world got in touch with the Guardia Civil in a bid to track him down.
His name is Jorge Perez Diez and he was born in Reinosa, Cantabria, in 1983.
According to El Pais, he joined the Guardia Civil in 2005 because he wanted to ‘take care of others’.
He has worked on counter-terrorism and narcotics in the Basque Country and Catalunya, but now now watches over security issues in Aguilar de Campo.
He moved to the small village of just 7,000 out of love for his wife, who lives there.
Pérez, a father-of-three, was with his oldest son, helping him with his violin practice, when he started to receive non-stop messages via WhatsApp.
Friends and acquaintances were sending him screenshots and links to hundreds of tweets.
“I can’t tell you what it felt like,” he told EL PAÍS.
The photo was taken by the Civil Guard communications department more than three years ago in San Sebastián, and since then Pérez had been trying to get hold of it.
“One day a few colleagues came up from Madrid to spend the day with us [Pérez was part of the Rapid Response Group at the time] and document our work,” he explains.
“One of the photographers showed me the picture and I asked him for it. He told me that they would send it to the base in Logroño and that I could order them there, all the photos I wanted, in a couple of weeks. […]
“When they sent them to me I realized they were all there except that one. I thought, damn it! All of them except the one I wanted. That was the end of it until three months ago, when I remembered the photo. And then suddenly that night it appeared on social media.”
He explains that he never imagined it would cause such a fuss.
“I’m flattered by all the affection and goodwill from people, and also the compliments, of course, and I’m taking it all with a good sense of humor,” he explains.
He adds that he realizes that people’s looks are subjective, and is not too concerned about the issue. “I am clear about how I feel about myself, and if anyone has to like me, it’s my wife.”
Each morning Perez gets up, makes breakfast, takes the children to school, works, and trains to run in obstacle course races.
“I can’t understand how things could be 
any different. In a family you need to have a connection and coordination with your partner. You learn bit by bit. The first time I changed a diaper six years ago, I ended up ripping off the tabs because I just couldn’t put them on; now I can do it with one hand.”
Pérez says that every day he gives thanks for what he has and for the closeness he enjoys with his neighbors, who treat him as if he were part of their family – exactly the intention of the Guardia Civil tweet.
