TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — When Kate Bravo met Tucson police officer Melissa Ayun at a “Coffee with a Cop” event, she never would’ve imagined she would become a police officer herself one day.
“I was convinced to go on a ride along and I went and I loved it!” Bravo said.
She just graduated from the police academy last month and is already taking on cases.
“You communicate with them and think of a solution together and even think of ways to make certain areas safer,” she said about interacting with people in the community.
Bravo said finding time to connect with the community is important to her job because it creates a good relationship between residents and the department.
For Bravo, being a women in a male-dominated field, isn’t an obstacle because she feels like the opportunities outweigh the stress of the job.
“Be aggressive. Don’t be afraid. You have a lot of support,” she advised to women thinking of becoming a police officer.
Melissa Ayun is the officer who convinced Bravo to join the police department and is a recruiter for the Tucson Police Department.
She’s been an officer for 17 years and feels like the Tucson Police Department has done a good job of representing women.
“Having women in all ranks and all assignments throughout the department is important to us,” Ayun said.
Currently about 16 percent of the department’s sworn law enforcement officers are women.
However, Ayun feels like there’s still work to be done.
On Sunday the department held a “Women in Public Safety” event where women in the department explained their job and spoke with people interested in becoming a part of the department.
The department’s goal is to have 30% of their sworn officers be women by the year 2030.
“Holding events like the Women in Public Safety, provides the opportunity for females to come out and see multiple females that are already doing this job and maybe will relate to one of us,” Ayun said.
She said she would be willing to take women who are interested in becoming an officer on a ride-along.
She said the hiring process closes in January for the academy that starts in May 2023 and stressed the benefits of joining the department such as the pension they would receive, tuition reimbursement, and medical and dental benefits.
The Tucson Police Department’s assistant chief Monica Prieto said women who are interested in becoming a part of the department need to get over doubting themselves before they take the first step.
“As women we kind of self doubt and think that being a police officer is a lot to do with physical ability when in fact it’s very mental,” Prieto said.
She’s been with the Tucson Police Department since 1999 and said it takes qualities like good communication and empathy to become an officer.
She proposed, “Be curious and try things out. Ask yourself, why not you?"
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
