and welcome to women in policing my name is Geraldine Garcia and I am an assistant chief with the San Antonio Police Department the focus of this event is to provide you with a behindth scenes look at female officers lives in law enforcement it will also allow you to ask questions and learn all about the challenges and rewards this career field presents for 38 years I have had the pleasure of working with some of the most diligent women in law enforcement each of us come from different backgrounds and have different stories today we have taken the time to share our stories about our chosen career field you will also meet a few of our male counterparts our brothers who share this perspective on working with women in [Music] police well I'm originally from outside of Philadelphia Pennsylvania and so I go back home you know I try to go home at least once a year whenever I go back home my my family they they like to sit around reminisce talk about just us growing up and how I was as a kid and I was the oldest of my brothers and sisters and my cousins so of course I'm labeled as the bossy one and the one always in control and everything has to be dian's way and when we were kids you know we used to play cops and I was always the cop no one else got to be the cop but I had my Police hat and we would ride bicycles and my grandparents had a long driveway with a circle at the top of the driveway and you had to you know just obey traffic law and if you didn't then I gave you tickets for it and my my mom mom used to get so upset because my cousins I mean they were probably five or six and but they they could still ride a bike just fine but at the Circle you had to use your turn signal the whole way around the circle and if you didn't you got a ticket but you know we paid in leaves and different stuff like that that's how that's the way our system worked I gave you the the tickets you paid me in Le so my my grandparents they just love bringing that up and they're like you know the way you were as a kid it makes complete sense how and why you're a police officer now okay well my Story begins in 1994 when I immigrate to this country uh back then I didn't speak English I became Widow and I have two little daughters at the time they were 6 and 8 years old I immigrated to this country looking for the American dream like everybody else my likes so my dreams at the time law enforcement was not on on that picture I just came to look for work and working whatever I could my love for law enforcement really grew up in Mexico where I was born and raised biggest obstacle going up through the ranks was my own self-confidence um I think at each rank I was at I had a mentor I had somebody who picked me for a job um I didn't put in to go to homicide I was selected to go there you know I didn't put in for the chief's office I was selected to go there by someone who saw something in me that I didn't really know I had and uh each time I tried to promote each time I started to take a promotional exam I would question whether I could do that I don't know if I can be a detective I don't know if I can be a supervisor I don't know if they'll listen to me because I'm small um and those are things that I had to overcome just my own self-confidence um but it was really a lot of mentoring from um males and females on the department mainly males really uh who mentored me along the way to show me that you've got what it takes and I appreciate that you know I'll be very honest with you the time that I spent at the police Police Academy as a lieutenant um was probably the most rewarding time of my career um I enjoyed Police Academy classes graduating um I enjoyed seeing Cadet succeed at certain things when they thought they couldn't because you know I never thought about um being an instructor at the Academy once I left I swear I was never going back I hated the Academy I was over I I never thought about ever returning um you know to be a part of the staff I just it was you know I was proud for the people who were there but it never you know struck me as something that I wanted to do um but then I was asked to go um back as a lieutenant um and then after I got there for a while and I I just thought what an awesome responsibility um and then it just it was just so fulfilling to to watch the cadetes just you know they were so down on themselves and it was just so exciting to see them do so well um it was just so rewarding the best time of my career honestly so I have I have no experience prior to the academy I had never held a gun I had never been in a fight um I do not have a authoritative type A personality uh the academy prepared me for the streets and and it prepared me for when I need to bring that side out I went through the academy and there were several times that you know I wasn't sure I I wanted to continue on it was nights at home crying on my bed was this job for me and I think I I questioned myself if this job was for me several times um before I started and during the Academy I wasn't sure if am I the right person for IT do I have the right personality um I can look back and tell you now as 100% the perfect job for me there's so few of us that there's just no need to to have that kind of animosity or or or distrust now someone gives you a reason to distrust them I I get it then I if it were a male I wouldn't want to be Associated also but there's so few of us that that that's the least we could do for each other and I have made some of the best friends on this department that were females one in particular officer Thomas Barbara Thomas never knew her until she worked across the hall from me and we are the best of friends she's close to my family she attends all my daughter's dance recital and but I would have never known her otherwise and if I did if I just said well here's another female I have to contend with on the second floor at the Academy then shame on me [Music] so I'd like to talk a little bit about the fitness aspect I know a lot of people coming in especially a lot of the females have a lot of question questions a lot of concerns will I be able to do it is it hard what should I do I think one of the most important things for females and anyone to know is that it's really really important to come in prepared you don't want to come in having not done anything and then expect to show up and be able to do the physical fitness it is a demanding program so some kind of preparedness is really important um another thing that's really really important just as important as being prepared is having the mental capacity and the mental strength to push through because I'll tell you the fitness it is going to be hard it is going to be challenging and there's going to be times when you want to quit and you have to train your mind not to do that um it's really really important just to never quit and that that was a mentality that I had when I went through the Academy I certainly wasn't the fastest or the strongest and there's times that you know I was last on runs or the last to complete something but but the mindset that I had was to never ever quit especially you know being the size that I am I'm not very big um maybe 41 on a good day um and so I knew that you know I had to prove myself and and it was all mental it was all knowing that no matter what happens no matter how long it takes me I I'm never ever going to quit it's really awesome being married to somebody that's 4'11 she's probably the smallest person on the department um she is quite a firecracker she's very very capable she's very very uh intelligent and she has learned that regardless of her physical stature she can handle just about any given situation uh a lot of it is in how you talk to people and a lot of it is in how you carry yourself you have to have that command presence and that Authority regardless of your stature or your gender uh the the dynamic between the two of us is is is actually one of the best facets of my life uh we understand each other and when I have a stressful day at work I can relate that to her and explain to her what happened and without having to decipher or decode all the police jargon because she already understands and vice versa she can come to me and with what happened at work or a scenario and we can talk these things through together to to come to a resolution or just to decompress it's it's actually one of the best things ever um and it goes back to what IID said earlier that if if you are a a female in this profession and you you come to this profession and you're married or with a significant other that's not a law enforcement officer or even in the military they that person needs to be very very secure in in who they are because that may hinder your relationship at a later point in time because of what you do and the things that you see on a day-to-day basis that they may or may not be able to relate to I'm part of the mental health unit and they allowed me to stay there on light duty status and that way I could help with the teachings that they do they teach a lot of classes and the meetings that they have to go to and I didn't have to go out into the field and put myself and my baby in any kind of danger or anything so they were very accommodating and then while I was on light duty status they also happened to have a promotion and I was able to promote up to detective and um so that's hence why I'm assign to East dog watch now um and the brass over there has been really wonderful accommodating everything over there letting me stay with mental health on light duty just for continuity sake so it's been a really nice transition with you know the officers that I work with they might handle things a lot different than I would have or than I do you know I if I see that I can make a difference with a a mom that's you know struggling with her teenager that's constantly running away or doesn't want to listen I'll take take the time and you know you know as busy as we are sometimes I still take the time and I'll stay there for 30 minutes to an hour whether it's talking to her about different resources she can use or you know talking to the kid and explaining to them you know hey these are the only responsibilities you have as a child you know as a kid enjoy it because it gets a lot harder when you get older you know for for advice that I would give a female specifically a female would be don't try to impress the males don't try to be a male um don't don't try to talk like them don't try to fight like them you know don't try to to handle calls the same way they might be yourself um you know because ultimately when you step outside your safety zone that's where you're going to get yourself hurt or that's where you're going to feel awkward uh and so really be yourself and don't don't try to live up to what you think the male's expectations of you are and really as long as you stick with the fundamentals of working hard um and doing your best the males are going to accept you I guarantee it they're going to accept you it's when you do something that would be outside the norm or that would be uncomfortable for you uh that the males are going to be able to to see that and maybe think that you're just trying too hard so ultimately be yourself no patch jurisdiction or distance can separate the unique Sisterhood in law enforcement women in law enforcement have no bounds whether you are serving in the next state count or even across the world we are united we are proud to be a part of such an amazing resourceful group of women who are leaders and passionate about serving their community and making a difference in the world good luck to all of you and should you choose this career field may you always remember what inspired you to begin this journey