Sgt. Kimberly Munley

The hero of the day at the Fort Hood shooting last week was actually a heroine. Sergeant Kimberly Munley is a civilian police officer on contract with the United States Army.  She was in the area to pick up her vehicle from a local repair shop when she heard the call over her police scanner of shots fired at Fort Hood. She immediately made her way to the scene and soon after exchanged fire with Major Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who was the shooter. Sgt. Munley emptied four shots into Hasan as he pumped two bullets into her thigh and wrist, leaving them both on the ground. Other officers were then able to secure the scene. Sgt. Munley was a weapons expert, and one of two officers to be credited with bringing the rampage to an end. The other officer was Sgt. Mark Todd. In the end, more than 100 bullets were fired and 13 people died, and many more were wounded. It could have been much worse had Sgt. Munley not responded so quickly or been so well trained in the use of her weapon.

Sgt. Munley is one of roughly 84,000 female police officers in the United States, and one of more than 524,000 sworn officers nationwide. Because of her gender, 100 years ago Sgt. Munley would have been denied the opportunity to join an American police force and acquire the skills that eventually brought Hasan down. That’s because 100 years ago there were no female sworn police officers in the United States. Munley and other female officers have Alice Stebbins Wells to thank for the opportunities they have today.

Alice Stebbins Wells

Exactly 100 years ago, Alice Stebbins Wells was a social worker working for the Los Angeles police department. Because of the advent of modern social work thanks to women such as Dorothea Dix and Jane Addams, police departments had been using such female social workers since the 1890s to provide humane treatment to female and juvenile prisoners. In 1909 Wells petitioned the Mayor and the City Council of Los Angeles to allow females to be sworn police officers. An ordinance was passed the next year and in September of 1910 Wells was sworn in as the nation’s first female officer. Two years later there were 6 female officers on the LAPD, and by 1916 sixteen other cities had hired female police officers, as had several foreign countries.

Wells was not quite done, however. In 1918, she persuaded the University of California (now UCLA) to offer the first course in women’s police work. 10 years later she was elected president of the Women’s Peace Officers’ Association, a group she helped found. She retired from the force in 1940, after 30 years of police work. Her interests were primarily with female and juvenile offenders; in this she followed up on the important work started by the aforementioned Dorothea Dix.

Today, women comprise roughly 9% of police officers nationwide, a statistics that suggests our society has more work to do when it comes to equality and fairness for women in police work. Other statistics, such as the fact that 67% of female officers have reported sexual harassment at the hands of male officers, complicate the world of police work for women. Leadership statistics round out the big-picture view: About 1.4% of the highest ranks in police work are filled by women, and women comprise just 2.5% of lieutenants and 3.7% of sergeants nationwide, though some police departments, such as New York and Miami, have higher numbers.

Sgt. Kimberly Munley is one of the 3.7% of female police sergeants in the United States. Last week she became an important symbol in the fight for fairness and equality on our nation’s police forces. Since women began in police work, the conversation around their participation has largely been about whether women can do the hard, strenuous work of policing, and her actions proved once again that they can. Fortunately, we do now have voices, such as that of Chief Joseph Polisar and Donna Milgram, who recognize the important work women are doing, and how the inclusion of them in police work can strengthen police departments. They call for greater fairness and targeted recruiting of women.

100 years ago when Wells began her official work, women were expected to focus solely on the humane treatment of females and juveniles. Today, like their male counterparts, they are expected and do address issues of social violence and answer the call to prevent more of that violence. Sgt. Munley is a heroine and an inspiration to women everywhere. Today, Munley is recovering from the bullet wounds she suffered at the hands of Hasan, one of which hit an artery. She is listed in good condition and has released a statement thanking people for all the support they have offered.

Additional sources:

Female Police Officers in the United States

Effectiveness of Female Police Officers

Handbook of Police Administration, Chapter 5