Reentry to Police Academy at 53

It was much easier the first time around, but not for the reasons one would expect.

Carol Burt
12 min readAug 8, 2021
Photo by todd kent on Unsplash

I was 28-years old the first time I went to the police academy. I thought I was pretty hot stuff forty-one years ago. I guess I was. My decent figure and long lion’s mane of big hair attracted men like flies. I had many boyfriends but what I loved most was my job as a police officer.

I wanted to be a cop since I was a kid, and finally, I had managed to get promoted from my dispatcher job to patrol officer. I had to threaten to sue, but that’s another story. My promotion made me the first female patrol officer at my department.

In January of 1979, I went to the state’s police academy for basic training. I loved it. The time flew by, and although I was glad to finish after eight weeks away from my daughter and home, I knew I would miss it. I had sailed through with little effort. There were four other females in the class, so I wasn’t alone in the women’s dorm. The officers attending were from all over the state.

I was single at the time. There were four more women in the class, and one woman was considerably older. She was probably in her mid-fifties. I remember the guys making fun of her. And God help me, I went along with them. Oh, I wish I didn’t remember that, but I do.

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Carol Burt
Carol Burt

Written by Carol Burt

Former print journalist, former mayor, retired law enforcement officer. Writing about politics, government, and personal essays. Actually member since 2019.