A conversation with Perkins on working in law enforcement - Northside Sun

Sara Perkins is a sergeant at the Ridgeland Police Department. She has been with the department for eight and a half years and became the city’s first female sergeant in 2019. She serves in the patrol division as a patrol supervisor. Recently, she was honored as First Responder of the Year for the state of Mississippi. Some key examples of her work that contributed to the award are saving a shooting victim’s life; investigating a homicide scene and thoroughly communicating with witnesses, contributing to the arrest of the suspect within four hours of the crime being committed; extracting crash victims trapped in damaged cars prior to the arrival of EMS and Fire personnel.

Her department said she is a role model for new officers and frequently spends time mentoring young officers. She works during her off time as a dispatcher to provide relief as newly hired dispatchers are receiving training. They said she can often be heard on the radio responding to calls for officers that have a large call log to provide time for them to catch up on their assignments. Chief John Neal said the effects of her work are felt throughout the department.

Perkins lives in Ridgeland with her five-year-old daughter.

How did you get into law enforcement?

“When I was going to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, I started dispatching to have some money while I was in school. I really enjoyed it, and then I got to ride along with the officers. There’s a female deputy there, and I wanted to be just like her. She wasn’t your typical officer, but she was very well-respected in the profession and everyone had good things to say about her. She wasn’t like a lot of the other females I’ve worked with. She worked really hard, and I wanted to be just like her.

“I struggled to find somewhere willing to give me a chance because of my small size, and I put myself through the academy. Then, I applied to Ridgeland and former Chief Jimmy Houston decided to give me that chance. So, I got hired here at Ridgeland and worked the night shift. When I had my daughter, I moved to the day shift.”

How did you become a sergeant?

“Corporal testing came up and I decided to put in for it. I did the corporal test, worked really hard on it and did well. A couple years later in 2019, the sergeant exam came up. I was the youngest and least experienced of the people going for it, but decided to get the experience so I could see what it was like and be ready for next time. Everybody in the department creates a list of most likely to get it to least likely, and I heard I was at the bottom. Even though I completely should have been at the bottom, I thought that wasn’t cool and decided I was going to show out. I started preparing with the policies and procedures. I know them like the back of my hand. I started reading leadership books and prepping for the media interview. We had a written test, interview with the chief, and the media project. They give you five textbooks, and you only have them for one week so you really have to study. I had a three-year-old running around being crazy, and I just was going to see how it went.

“I was the last one to have an interview with the chief. I got ready and put my dress uniform on. I went into his office and he’s like ‘Where is your badge?’. I forgot to put my badge on, and I was like ‘Well, this is great.’ I leave there after the interview and have not hit the bottom steps, and the lieutenant calls me to say they need to see me in the conference room. I thought it was a quick rejection. I go up there and they laugh about the badge, and they said ‘We just want to say you are Ridgeland’s first female sergeant.’ and I said ‘I didn’t get it because I’m a girl did I?’. I was going to be upset, but they said ‘No, you really went above and beyond and over prepared, and we know you’re going to do a good job.’ That is my journey of becoming a sergeant”

How do you view being the first female sergeant in Ridgeland?

“I don’t think that the female part of it has anything to do with it. I don’t think that I have ever been viewed differently at Ridgeland for being a female. It really doesn’t impact anything, except people are sometimes more receptive to females I think. It doesn’t change anything.”

Would you encourage other women or young girls to go into law enforcement?

“I would if they want to put in the work. There is a standard and you have to meet that standard. You can’t use being a female as an excuse to not meet that standard. You have to put in the time, energy and work because it’s not a male or female job. It’s a police officer’s job. You can’t say ‘I can’t do that because I’m a female’. The men aren’t saying they can’t do something because they’re a man. You got to suck it up and do it. You’re going to be better at some things and the men are going to be better at some things. It is what it is, but you have to pull your own weight. If you aren’t willing to do that, I don’t think you should get in law enforcement. If you want to wear a badge to put it on social media or make that your identity, I don’t think you need to be in law enforcement. But if you genuinely want to do the job – the good and the bad, the hard and the easy parts – then, of course. It is a great job. It is a rewarding job.

What is the best part of your job?

I think seeing people at their worst and then getting to see them at their best – meeting different people and seeing how they deal with life; seeing kids that came from bad homes that we dealt with and then seeing them graduate college. The people that you get to meet is the best part of my job.

Tell me about your First Responder of the Year award.

My shift put me in for that. My own shift put me in for officer of the month, which you get a free pair of shoes from Fleet Feet and some other gifts if you win. It is a cool incentive. I’ve been trying to get that for a long time. Everytime I get close to getting officer of the month, it slips through my fingers and someone does something better.

In November, we had the Walk On’s shooting, the Pine Knoll shooting, an active shooter threat, and also a lady trapped in a car and I was the only one small enough to get in there and get her out of her seatbelt. My officers said they were putting me in for officer of the month for November. I went upstairs and Chief said my officers put me in for officer of the month, but he went ahead and put me in for first responder of the year. I had no idea what that meant, but I went on the website and they have dispatcher, police officer, fire fighter, and first responder awards. They put me as first responder, because most of what I did was medical with putting the turner kit on the shooting victim, the medical aid with the child who was shot, and everything else.

It is for all of Mississippi and I thought I wasn’t going to get it, but it was so nice to be nominated.

We are sitting at the Gala in December and the first guy they bring out won a new award called life saver of the year. They start reading off what he did, and it was when an officer got hit by a car and his supervisor put a turner kit on him to save him. They brought up all the other awards, and I was just happy to be there and that my shift had put me in for it. That’s the best. It is one thing when your lieutenants are putting you in for it, but when your shift puts you in for it, that means you’re doing something right. They started reading out what my shift had written about me and I was like ‘That’s me!’. People were looking around, and then he said “The First Responder of the Year goes to Sergeant Sara Perkins with the Ridgeland Police Department’.

My little brother got to be there, which was so cool because he is in the military and I never get to see him. He said it was so cool to see people’s faces when they realized a little girl did all of that.

I wouldn’t have gotten it without my shift. The things that I got it for – my shift was all involved in. I was just the supervisor, so I was the one relaying all the information. But they were the ones who did everything. I didn’t have to tell them twice. On the interstate shooting, someone said there might be a suspect at St. Andrews and I said ‘anybody who is not here, get to St. Andrews’. It would have been the worst case scenario. They didn’t say anything – they just went and did what they were supposed to do. I was screaming for turner kits and I think I got five thrown at me. The same thing with the shooting on Pine Knoll. That was a tough one. It’s tough to see a kid get killed so young for something so senseless. That wouldn’t have gotten solved without them. Same thing with the active shooter. I told everybody to get to a school and they all did it and sat there for seven or eight hours and nobody asked when they could go to lunch. I have a really good shift, and they should do First Responder Shift of the Year.

It was really special and I was excited to get it. But I can name 12 people in the department that probably deserved it over me. We have really good people over there. I’m sure it was hard for Chief Neal to decide who to put in for it.

Do you think the award will motivate you moving forward?

That is how we handle business, and that is what we are supposed to do. No matter who it is or what it is – that is how we are going to respond. I’m glad I got it so other people can see that if you do what you are supposed to do correctly, you could get an award. I hope it motivates other people to say ‘I do that everyday and that could be me next year.’ It shows them that their efforts aren’t worth nothing.

Do you have any more career goals?

Hopefully, I’ll make lieutenant, and then, eventually, chief somewhere. If not here, then somewhere. That is my main goal. We shall see. I have a long way to go, but I have plenty of time. I’m happy where I am and like where I am.

source: https://www.northsidesun.com/local-content-top-stories/conversation-perkins-working-law-enforcement

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