Rosita Smith and Jennifer Ross

Recorded March 6, 2021 40:38 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id: atl004384

Description

Rosita Smith (67) interviews her friend Jennifer Ross (48) about Jennifer's career with the Decatur Police Department, from her beginnings in the academy to being promoted to Captain, and what she has learned from her experiences over the years.

Subject Log / Time Code

RS congratulates JR on her recent promotion to Captain in the Decatur Police Department. JR speaks about her father being a City of Atlanta Police Officer, and her mother making her a tiny police uniform as a child after she said she wanted to follow in his footsteps. JR shares memories of going into officer training after school and recalls being selected by the City of Decatur.
JR speaks about going into the police academy in Atlanta, which involves earning a certification. JR remembers the process of selecting which agencies she would apply to, including scheduling ride-alongs and interviews with different departments. JR reflects on being someone who speaks their mind, and says she needed to apply somewhere she could concentrate on being an officer, without the potential for harassment as a woman.
JR recalls being hired in advance of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, beginning to work without much training, and then entering the academy. JR remembers her first days released from the academy as a solo officer. JR remembers her first call on her own, responding to someone finding their mother dead.
JR shares her greatest joys and challenges in the role. JR says she finds joy in leaving people in a better place than she found them, and takes pride in changing peoples’ perceptions of law enforcement officers. JR speaks about becoming a mentor and self-defense instructor.
JR speaks about the job of being a police officer as inherently negative, because you are only called upon in times of distress, when things are out of control. JR notes that there is only so much you can do in that moment, and she feels cut down when the community complains.
JR reflects on the impact of her relationship with Mike Booker, the Police Chief of the Decatur Police Department. JR notes that Mike has always been a leader who pushes folks out of their comfort zone and isn’t afraid to try doing things differently. JR speaks about him motivating her to go out for the Captain position.
RS asks JR how the protests and media reporting have affected her and her role since “the Minneapolis Incident.” JR speaks about being referred to as a “white supremist” and “schoolyard bully” when she feels most of her colleagues just want to help others. JR says there is now a major shortage of people looking to get into her line of work for the right reasons.
JR shares how this role has allowed her to be a people-watcher and study human behavior. JR speaks about being an investigator for a decade and feeling that she encountered the same patterns with different people “over and over.” JR says many people she’s encountered just need to be sympathized with and listened to. JR speaks about people having told her “you’re the nicest police officer I’ve ever been arrested by” and speaks about her natural “bubbly” disposition.
RS asks JR what she wishes civilians better understood about folks in law enforcement. JR discusses the history of law enforcement officers in this past generation mostly coming out of the military, and compares it to training people who came out of college or other careers in this generation who don’t communicate in the same manner.
JR speaks about people having trouble coming into the role with a desire to make a difference, then realizing that the impact is not as large or immediate as they’d thought. JR speaks about hiring officers being the same as hiring someone for a job, in which people have different backgrounds and their own struggles. JR shares her concerns for what Police Abolition would look like and speaks about trauma affecting police officers work.
JR reflects on attending a Women’s Leadership summit and noticing how fewer women apply for executive-level positions because they’ve told themselves they’re not qualified. JR says many people applying for these roles are perfectionists and tell themselves they aren’t quite ready. JR speaks about being proud of her career thus far.
JR shares how she’d like to be remembered by her colleagues: as a genuine, compassionate, honest, hard worker who followed the rules.

Participants

  • Rosita Smith
  • Jennifer Ross

Venue / Recording Kit