Dorothy F. Cousins, once the highest-ranking woman in the Philadelphia Police Department, has died at 93
She rose through the ranks quickly over her 28 years on the force and also served as director of security for the Housing Authority. Former Mayor Ed Rendell called her “simply the best law enforcement officer.”
Dorothy F. Cousins, 93, of Philadelphia, retired staff inspector, district commander, and captain in the Philadelphia Police Department; former chief of county detectives for the District Attorney’s Office; and onetime director of security for the Housing Authority, died Thursday, Feb. 29, of lung disease at her home in Mount Airy.
As staff inspector from 1982 to 1983, Ms. Cousins was then the highest-ranking woman in the history of the Police Department. She was one of the first women to be admitted to the police academy in the mid-1950s and among the few Black women when she joined the force in 1955.
She went on to become the first Black female captain of the Juvenile Aid Division in 1979, first female district commander in 1980, first female staff inspector in 1982, first female chief of county detectives in 1983, and director of security for the Housing Authority in 1987. She retired in 1990.
“I don’t expect it will be easy,” Ms. Cousins told The Inquirer after she was promoted to district commander in 1980. “But I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s time a woman took command.”
In 1983, when Ms. Cousins was named chief of county detectives, then-District Attorney Ed Rendell said she was “not just the best woman available for the position, but she was simply the best law enforcement officer.” He also praised her “brilliant record of achievement and leadership.”
She supervised 93 detectives in that position and was honored for her service with a resolution in City Council in 1984. She resigned in 1986 so she could travel with family and friends, and then-District Attorney Ronald D. Castille told The Inquirer: “She is a true professional and a great person. I told her it was all right with me if she stayed on. But she said she wanted to retire from the office.”
As commander of the 39th District in the early 1980s, Ms. Cousins oversaw more than 200 officers, 90% of them men, and she said she drew on her earlier experience as a Juvenile Aid Division captain to forge meaningful connections with the community. Two years later, she finished second on the promotional exam, assumed the department’s fourth-highest rank as staff inspector, and was assigned to the Internal Affairs Unit.
She was director of security for the Housing Authority in the late 1980s and responsible for more than 100 officers and 21 buildings, and charged with updating equipment and training programs, and improving relationships with residents. She told The Inquirer in 1987: “I would like to see a situation where we have just about eliminated crime from our homes, and tenants feel free to go in and out, and feel secure in their houses.”
Earlier, in the Juvenile Aid Division, she was promoted to sergeant in 1967 and lieutenant in 1974. She also co-chaired a public safety task force in 1992 for Mayor Rendell, sat on the search committee later that year to replace outgoing Police Commissioner Willie L. Williams, and served on other committees.
She worked on the Police Advisory Board after she retired and was active with the NAACP, Northwest Victims Services, Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, Chums Inc., and other nonprofits and civic and social organizations.
“She was soft-spoken, but she had a commanding voice,” said her daughter, Patricia Cousins Smith. “When she said something, you listened.”
Dorothy Francis Cousins was born Oct. 23, 1930, in Philadelphia. She grew up in North Philadelphia, was an exceptional student, especially in science, and graduated from Philadelphia High School For Girls in 1948.
She had her daughter at 19 and, unable to afford college classes, worked at first as a secretary at Sears Roebuck and Co. and then at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Her older brother, William M. Cousins, was a Tuskegee Airman during World War II, and she said often that his heroism inspired her to pursue her own career in public service and law enforcement.
Ms. Cousins liked to travel and visited all seven continents. She was an avid reader of mysteries and pored over the newspaper every day.
She was direct but kind, outspoken but not judgmental, her daughter said. She had lifelong friends from high school and was active for years at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Germantown Avenue.
“As a trailblazer, she inspired many people,” her daughter said. “She was so intelligent, and she wanted people to excel as best they could. She cared about people.”
In addition to her daughter, Ms. Cousins is survived by two granddaughters, three great-granddaughters, and other relatives. Four brothers and three sisters died earlier.
Visitation with the family is to be from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 23, at St Luke’s Episcopal Church, 5421 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19144.
Donations in her name may be made to the Scholarship Fund of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., Box 18966, Philadelphia, Pa. 19119.