Police officer: Yolanda Alexander - The Many-Splendored Faces of Today's Black Woman

Ebony, March, 1997 by Richette L. Haywood

It wasn't really the kind of career Yolanda Alexander dreamed of as a child growing up in the inner-city of Washington, D. C. (the "hood" as she calls it). Not because she associated anything negative with being a police officer. On the contrary, her experience with the boys in blue was quite positive. The police officers who patrolled her community when she was a child would sit on the porch, talk to neighbors and make friends with the people they swore to serve and protect.

"It was more of what they [police departments] are trying to get back to now, which is community policing," says the 36-year-old Alexander, who is a master patrol officer with the Metropolitan Police Department District of Columbia. "I think its what we need to be successful.... It's going to take some time, but I think we'll get back to that. To make citizens feel safe to walk down to the store on Sunday morning, get a newspaper, and not be robbed."

For 11 years, Alexander has been working to do just that: make the residents on her beat in the upscale Georgetown section of the nations capitol feel safe. Convincing some people she's up to the challenge, however, can sometimes be as daunting a task as the work itself. But the petite 5-foot-4 and 125-pound Washington, D.C., native has managed to hold her own in a field where size counts. Quite simply, she is living proof of the old adage: "It's not the size of the woman in the fight that counts, but the size of the fight in the woman." Every day her fighting spirit is put to the test. And every day, she is expected (no, required) to rise to the challenge.

"Anything can happen in any district at any time," says Alexander.

As such, her primary objective, she says, has always been safety first. Safety is the most important thing. Safety and coming home at night. Every night," says Alexander, pointing out that as a police officer, "you never know whether, you will or not."

With more than a decade of service under her holster, she's had her share of stressful situations and on several occasions has had to draw her gun. The first time she unholstered her weapon, she says, was when she was still in training. "We got a call for a man with a gun in a store," recalls Alexander, who still remembers the erratic ride to get to the scene and the adrenaline rush she got from not knowing how the scene would play out. "The man came out of the store with the gun and we drew down on him, and he decided to drop his gun."

For police officers, being put in dangerous situations is a part of the job. If they are to survive on the street, they learn to deal with it. As aD experienced officer, Alexander has learned to deal with it. "I've pulled my gun out several times," relates Alexander, since that first time, "but I've never had to use it. And I'm glad. I hope I never have to."

And even though she's not anxious (although prepared) to use her department-issued 9mm semiautomatic handgun, it remains her constant companion. "I travel with my gun in my pants. If I'm running to the store, Ill grab my wallet and my gun," she says.

Single, Alexander says combining the rigors of her career with her personal life has not proved troublesome. "It's relatively easy because my friends are older than I am and they are very respectful about my job," explains the officer who remembers being the youngest person in her group when she first joined the police force.

To the departments credit, notes Alexander, it has become more inclusive when it comes to female officers. Women are doing all kinds of things on the police department including riding the large Harley-Davidson motorcycles and being on the Emergency Response Team. There are also a lot of female officials (sergeants, lieutenants, captains and inspectors). Women also do a lot of the undercover work," says Alexander, who has worked undercover as a prostitute.

Needless to say, working undercover is a delicate and dangerous undertaking. And although Alexander says it was an invaluable experience, her real desire is to become an inspector with the department. "I don't want to be the chief of police, she says, "but I would like to reach the rank of inspector, who is the district commander and oversees the officers."

As a master patrol officer, Alexander has experienced a taste of command. In the position, she trains recruits on a regular basis and occasionally works as acting sergeant. She believes her personality is an asset on the job. "I'm outspoken. "I'm strong-minded, and I believe I can handle any assignment," she says. "I may not always do a job successfully the first time, but I always make an effort."