The old saying, ‘Like mother, like daughter,’ is true for two Philly police officers
Research suggests that female police officers use less force and, as a result, are sued less frequently than male officers. There is data to suggest they may also be more trusted than male officers.
For many, being a police officer may seem unappealing. I know that for me, it’s not a career I ever envisioned for myself. Not even once.
Luckily, not everyone is like me.
Last month, I attended a ceremony for Philly officers at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, which included a mother-daughter pair who were both promoted. They were all smiles as Dakieta Long, 32, moved up to corporal and her mom, Stacie Smith, 55, became a lieutenant.
For Smith, the joy she must have felt at the public affirmation about the good job she’s doing was compounded by being able to watch as her daughter was promoted, as well.
“I tried my best to set a good example for my community and for the public, but I didn’t realize that I was also setting a good example for my daughter, who wound up following in my footsteps,” Smith told me. “I’m super proud of her.”
The 19-year veteran later added, “I never thought that she would one day say, ‘Mom, I want to be a police officer.’”
They are believed to be the first mother-daughter duo in the history of the Philadelphia Police Department to ever have been promoted on the same day. “I don’t want to say it hasn’t happened, but in my 22 years on this job, I haven’t seen it,” Sgt. Eric Gripp, who works in public affairs, told me.
No one else I checked in with afterward had seen it, either.
Philly could really use more cops. Recruitment has been a challenge in recent years. But policing is a hard job, not to mention a relatively thankless career. Always has been. The job has become even more fraught following the police killing of George Floyd, which led to a national reckoning about police brutality.
I won’t pretend that being a woman in the police force is always easy. Recently, some female former members and one current member of the New Jersey State Police filed a lawsuit accusing the department of gender bias, which they claim kept women from being promoted.
But law enforcement needs more diversity. Research suggests that female police officers use less force — and excessive force — and, as a result, are sued less frequently than male officers. There is data to suggest they may also be more trusted in low-income neighborhoods and among residents of color.
Philly is doing better than many areas. Women make up 12% of police officers nationwide, but in our city, 22% of sworn personnel are female. During the tenure of the city’s first female police commissioner, Danielle Outlaw, the department announced the 30x30 initiative, which aims to have 30% of police recruits be female by 2030.
» READ MORE: Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and the perils of being the first | Jenice Armstrong
I was present to witness in 2021 when Philadelphia made history by promoting four Black female officers to captain. That was the most women who made it that far in a single class in the history of the department. To me, that was the biggest bright spot during Outlaw’s tumultuous tenure.
Long agreed that having a woman in the top job made a difference for her.
“She just opened it to be a more progressive department,” Long said about Outlaw. “To [have seen] a Black female police commissioner, it shows you there’s a chance for me. It’s exciting when you see the growth of our department for [people of color] and women. It’s a lot of opportunities for us.”
Long graduated from Smith’s alma mater, Cardinal Dougherty High School, in 2009 before enrolling at Morgan State University in Baltimore. She studied political science thinking she’d become a lawyer, but left after two years, in part because “being away from my mom and my home was really hard for me.”
The Northeast resident bounced around a bit and worked as a preschool teacher before deciding to take the plunge and join the police force nearly six years ago. Long didn’t tell her mother until after she applied, just in case she didn’t make it. “Watching my mom excel in her career, it just makes me want to keep moving forward,” Long told me.
Seeing Long and Smith interact at the promotion ceremony reminded me of my relationship with my own mom. The older I get, the more I remind myself of her — I look like her, I cook like her, and there are times I hear things coming out of my mouth that sound exactly like her. Although our lives were very different — she worked as a school librarian and raised five children while I’m a journalist with no kids — we shared a special bond.
Last month, at the promotion ceremony, I saw that same bond between Smith and Long (who also look a lot alike). If Long is like her mother — and it certainly appears she is — then she has a bright future. As a city, we’re better off for it.