SEATTLE — Monica Alexander recently retired as a captain with the Washington State Patrol. She enrolled in the training academy later than most, at age 35 -- eventually becoming the first black woman to be promoted in the agency's history when she became a sergeant in 2003.
She joins New Day Northwest to discuss her most exciting moments on the force and her future plans with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.
After 23 years with the Washington State Patrol, Alexander turned in her badge, but retirement for Alexander technically lasted just a few days.
The day after she sent her retirement notice, before she even had a chance to get out the door, executive director at the training commission Sue Rahr sent her a one line email that read: Call me immediately.
Rahr wanted Alexander to join the Criminal Justice Training Commission where approximately 10,000 police officers train.
Alexander will be covering the advanced training division, which trains those who are already police officers with new and hopefully better ways to serve their community.
"Police officers love training. They love learning new things and I love being a part of that," said Alexander.
She will be working with mid-career and experienced police officers, which she knows will be tough because change is hard. There will be new training surrounding topics like use of deadly force in hopes of bridging the gap between law enforcement and the community.
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