On July 28, 1975, thirty women along with forty-one men walked into the Hall of Justice and were sworn in as officers of the San Francisco Police Department. They were the 126th Recruit Class. It would be the first time in the history of this department that women were hired for the rank of Q2 (Patrolman) and would be trained to perform the duties of patrolling our city streets.
This would not be an easy transition for the department. There was much skepticism as to the women's ability to perform this job. The pervasive belief was that women were not meant to work as patrol officers. They would not be able to handle the physical tasks and their undoubted failure would soon show this to be true. However, the department needed to realize that this new breed was not going to go away. Fortunately, many male officers stepped forward to encourage and mentor these women. This was not a popular position to take among the ranks and these men are still appreciated today for their sense of fairness and the ability to think and act independently.
Change did not come fast. Training, uniforms, safety equipment and locker rooms all had to be altered. In the end the 126th Recruit Class succeeded and graduated twenty-eight women and forty-one men.
In November of 1975, the 127th Recruit Class also included women officers. The two classes were to be observed for two years to see if the women would succeed. They had to gain the respect of fellow officers and the citizens of the city. Ultimately perseverance and raw determination made for success for the women officers. They showed that not only were they capable of performing the duties of patrol, they also brought a different perspective and new skills, which enriched the department as a whole. As the saying goes, “The rest is history.”
This year, 2015, we celebrate those women who forty years ago took on a challenge and fought to prove that women are capable of great police work. They have enjoyed careers that in some cases have spanned more than 35 years, and they have been represented in all ranks.
Today woman officers can be proud of the ones that came before them. Some of today’s officers were not even born when the women of the 126th started their first day in the Academy. The women of tomorrow should know that they can join the SFPD and have a fulfilling career.
A celebration later this year will be held to congratulate and pay tribute to the women of the 126th Recruit Class:
Susan Asaro (Hernandez), Mary Christensen (Petrie), Sharon Cordes (Dutto), Maureen D’Amico, Linda Dean, Elizabeth Droher (Loew), Comelia Franklin, Lynda Fujimoto, Arlene George (Martin), Judith Hardiman (Ryan), Terrye Ivy, Barbara Jackson (Davis), Gladys Jackson, Jackie Jehl, Dorothy Jorgensen (Shurtleff), Diane Mackin, Jeanne McVeigh, Pam Meeds, Paula Norris, JoAnn Oldham-King, Melinda Pengel, Vicki Quinn, Johnetta Ridout (Daniels), Rebecca Rule, Glenda Samson, Susan Schumacher, Susanne Sorge, Joyce Watkins.
I would also like to personally thank Jenn Emberly, who for the 25th Anniversary celebration created our beautiful logo. Jenn graciously allowed me to use it again for our 40th Anniversary. My wish is that the department will adopt this logo and someday in the history of the SFPD a woman will be changing the number of years to 75 and then 100.
