The NYPD’s highest-ranking Hispanic cop reflected this week on how much more diverse the department has become since his retired-lieutenant father served decades ago.

Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera, 52, of the Bronx’s 46th Precinct, sat down with The Post for Hispanic Heritage Month Tuesday, and recalled how people with his background were scarce in the force when he was a boy.

“There’s a photo that I have in my office of my father as a police officer doing some recruiting across the street from the Apollo Theatre — at the time when there weren’t many Hispanics on the job,” said Rivera.

Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera praised the NYPD for its diversity. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post

“I have that up on my office wall as a reminder, to remind me of my roots and the sacrifices of th

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