REPRESENTATION: Women in Leadership roles at CPD explain the need for females on the force

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Law Enforcement has been a male dominated field for a very long time.

But two leaders in the Chattanooga Police Department hope to shed light on the need for more women on the force.

The department only HAS one woman on SWAT.

They also give future female leaders big shoes to fill. Both admit that the job can be intimidating.

Lt. Heather Williams says, “When you get to the point where we have to go to the door, it’s pretty intense, but the good thing is- we have a great group of individuals that we train with all the time. It’s a cohesive team and we know how each other is going to react. ”

Captain Jerri Sutton says “Once I got into the Academy, being the only female in my Academy, I realized that I could compete with the boys and I followed through with the profession and I found that an adrenaline junkie like myself enjoy the excitement of doing the job, but I also I really loved the ability to help people in some pretty tough situations.”

Tough Situations that neither Captain Jerri Sutton or SWAT Lt. Heather Williams shy away from.

It hasn’t always been this way. That you have women in leadership within the police department AND woman represented in roles like this.

It is NOT like you see on #TV, but the representation is what is important.
Women are kicking butt on + OFF the screen.
I am highlighting two amazing women tonight! ?@ChattanoogaPD has 1 woman on their #SWAT team.
Tune in after @swatcbs for the full story! @wdefnews12 pic.twitter.com/J0YQXMjBZz

— Amber Worthy (@AWorthyNews) November 29, 2018

Captain Sutton says, “people need to see people who look like them doing something that they think may be…. not necessarily be attainable.”

Lt. Williams says it is great to let other females know they can do it and that they are completely capable. She says, “you just have to work for it.”

It is A LOT of work. The Chattanooga Police Department SWAT teams trains twice a month… like shooting at moving target under the same pressure that they have in the field.

Lt. Williams says, “I don’t feel it be different so the team, we are a very cohesive team. They don’t treat me any different, my standards are the same as their standards. I am small, I’m not as strong as some of them.”

“You know your strengths you know your weaknesses and you can always work on your weaknesses every day.”

For both Captain Sutton and Lt. Williams, they are serving in the same communities, East Brainerd and St. Elmo, where they grew up, hoping to show little girls in the area that this field that has been male dominated for a while doesn’t have to be.

“It’s like, I’m small so it makes it easier for the bigger guys to go through a door with me or I can get into the small spaces a lot easier so yeah I have my advantages even though I’m small, I can fit in small places like here launch me up into a small attic that has happened and they’re like where is Heather? Haha”

“It’s always cool to see the females, their eyes light up when I see a female officer walking and it’s also really cool because they’re like “you’re on SWAT?” because they’ll see the pad or the tag,” says Lt. Williams.

Captain Sutton says, “you need to have a voice at the table when it comes to rights and responsibilities, actions taken for and against you. And I felt like I could be a good representation of not only who we are but what we need.”

For these women, recruiting more women takes showing both what you give up and what you gain in this line of work.

Lt. Williams says, “Your straightforward with them, you don’t sugarcoat it because you have to make sure that they have the mentality for it… You see people’s worst sides, but you also deal with the good sides.”

“It is bigger than me and knowing that there will always be the need for someone to stand in the gap… my mother says this cliché to me all the time ‘the wisest one learns from their mistakes, but wiser is the one who learns from the mistakes of others.’ And being in a profession where you see people making mistakes all the time it helps me to grow. It helps me to grow and not make mistakes, but to also be able to impart wisdom on other folks,” says Captain Sutton.

“Nothings going to repair you for the bus crash, July 16th, all you can do is trying really hard and try to prepare for it, but nothing is like being in the middle of it when it happens. You do learn to cope with the situation and you learn to do your job and that’s the part of their training, you train yourself physically and mentally and you know that when you are doing the job that if you don’t do it to the best of your ability, you’re not gonna get justice so being able to do it to the best of your ability is very important so you have to hold it to gather emotionally mentally and physically.”

Captain Sutton says, “Who would you rather be? Someone who is constantly pouring into yourself or someone who is able to pour into others? This job allows me to pour into others.”

Lt. Williams says “it’s awesome to have that kind of positive influence on the younger females and let them know that yes, this is possible, you can do this job.”

It might not look like it does in Hollywood, but their commitment and dedication is evident in this community.