the lapd's most beautiful patrolwoman takes us downtown
Los Angeles police officer Ginger Harrison has a predisposition for taking a bite out of crime. Her father and grandfather are retired FBI agents, and her uncle is a policeman. "I guess that's how I kept on the straight and narrow," she says. This 28-year-old Michigan native, a self-proclaimed tomboy, moved to California when she was 19 and intended to follow in her father's footsteps by joining the FBI. A hiring freeze brought her to the LAPD, and the six-year veteran now patrols the Foothill Division of the San Fernando Valley. "There have been times when I've rolled up to a shooting in progress," she explains. "I've been in situations with people fighting all around me, and all of a sudden shots are being fired. You don't know where they're coming from, so all you can do is duck and wait until they stop so you can get your bearings. I've chased guys over walls, tackled them and taken them into custody, but I've been lucky not to have had to shoot anybody yet."
In a macho profession like law enforcement, Ginger has had to overcome a lot of sexist stereotypes both on the force and on the street. "We women definitely have to prove ourselves," she says. "Just the other day some lady who found out I was a cop said, 'Oh my God! You look more like you should be on Baywatch.' As long as you can show that you're one of the boys—that you can hang in there and fight with them when you need to—you're in. Still, we get picked for certain jobs more than others, like sex crimes, or anything that involves a child, or anything against a woman. But this is what I love—I couldn't imagine doing anything else." Ginger says the Lapd is about 30 percent women, and she currently patrols her beat with a female partner.
When she's not on duty, this crime kicker likes kicking it at home with her husband, Michael, and her 20-month-old daughter, Bailey. "When I come home, Bailey's arms go around me and they don't leave me until she goes to bed," Ginger relates. Would she encourage someone, perhaps her daughter, to pursue this line of work? "People think this job is all about helping people, but a lot of times it's not," she says. "What you deal with every day can change you as a person. You become cynical and cold to certain things because you have to. You can't take everything personally because you'd never make it." At the end of a day, Ginger acknowledges that it is all for the better. "As a group, as a division of officers, I definitely think we're having an impact," she says. "There are the few people you know you've gotten through to, or you see the person who committed a terrible crime get arrested and go to jail. Then there are the thankful victims and the children you help take out of horrible home situations. In those times, you feel like you're really making a difference."
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