Walking boldly into law enforcement
Facing graduation with a psychology and criminal justice major, Dana Kuipers Grant 鈥97 didn鈥檛 want to go to graduate school. And the only career in criminal justice that interested her was law enforcement. Choosing it, she chose boldly.
鈥淟APD had the reputation of doing the best officer training in the world,鈥 Grant said. 鈥淚 wanted the best, and I wanted to be in the middle of everything.鈥
She got her wish. Accepted into the police academy for the spring class of 1998, she first went through a five-week pre-academy training designed to physically condition female recruits. At the academy itself, a drill instructor ordered her and other recruits through grueling days of physical and mental challenge. About a quarter of the class quit or was kicked out.
鈥淚 loved the academy!鈥 Grant said. 鈥淚 liked the physicality, I liked being pushed. I had never shot a gun. But of 49 people in my class, two shot 鈥榚xpert,鈥 and I was one.
鈥淎s a rookie I was dreading being assigned to a rough area, like Southeast Division. I was 23 and scared about gangsters, about getting into fights. What if they didn鈥檛 listen to me? I learned that criminals and suspects can tell if you鈥檙e brand new by the way you carry yourself. It didn鈥檛 take me long to pick that up. Because I had to.
鈥淚 spent my rookie year in North Hollywood Division, then three years in Transit Division. But then I got assigned to Newton Division鈥斺楽hootin鈥 Newton,鈥 we call it. It鈥檚 downtown and has a lot more gangs, a lot more crime. You get a taste of everything: aggravated assaults, robberies, pursuits. I did get involved in fights there. But that鈥檚 also where I learned how to be a good street cop.
鈥淚t has never crossed my mind that I wouldn鈥檛 be going home to my two kids after a shift. Police officers tend to think they鈥檙e invincible. But also, at LAPD we haven鈥檛 lost an officer in a tactical situation in 10 years. That tells you how good our training is. And we run two-man cars. That makes a huge difference. Plenty of times I wouldn鈥檛 have stopped someone if I hadn鈥檛 had a partner.
鈥淎fter Newton I helped open a new division鈥 Olympic, near Koreatown鈥攚here I trained new officers. Then I went to Rampart Division, an area where Central American immigrants congregate. I trained new officers there, too, and in 2015, my partner and I both earned the Officer of the Year award.
鈥淚鈥檝e been promoted to sergeant and just finished my probationary year. Half of it I spent in a specialized unit that deals with Skid Row. Now I鈥檓 in Hollenbeck Division, which is East LA. As a sergeant I鈥檓 not the first to respond to a call. I go if the situation is serious, or we have to find a suspect, or do an investigation.
鈥淚 absolutely love putting a bad guy in jail, so at least for a while he can鈥檛 hurt an innocent person. Hands down that鈥檚 why I love this job.
鈥淏ut being in the street for 20 years takes its toll. Wearing all the gear, I have constant back and neck pain. And in LA you see stuff鈥攈omicides, suicides, abused kids鈥 every day you see crazy stuff. That takes a toll, too. You think you鈥檙e immune to it, but subconsciously, you鈥檙e not.
鈥淢y faith helps me through so much. I know God is watching over me out there. That鈥檚 probably why I鈥檓 not afraid.鈥