NORFOLK, Va. - The boots, the gun, the badge: elements of a police uniform each worn by a woman with a different story.
Officer Valencia Keese gears up for defensive tactics training class.
“I was a stay at home mom,” said Officer Valenica Keese, taking a break from her defensive tactics course. “I wanted to fulfill my role as a parent and being a role model for my kids.”
Keese is employed as an officer with the Norfolk Police Department.
Other women we spoke to said they chose the badge of honor because they were searching for a life after the military.
“I spent eight years in the Air Force,” said Sgt. Doloras Woolery. “I had pride in the uniform that I wore in the Air Force, and I missed that when I got out.”
Sgt. Doloras Woolery talks to News 3's Merris Badcock at the NPD Range.
Woolery says she has spent the last 17 years of her life with the Norfolk Police Department, and she recently became the department’s first female Range Master. “It’s an honor,” she said with a grin.
But law enforcement is a career that is all too often overlooked by women. “My mom always said, `think about something else. Maybe that’s not right for girls,’” said Officer Kimberly Cole.
Inspired by one department’s commitment to hire more females to their force, News 3 investigates just how many women are patrolling your streets.
We’ll show you why many department could use more than just a few good women on the force Friday night on News 3 at 11.
