When I was little, I experienced a lot of different relationships through my mother. A few of them were not good relationships. I witnessed what someone can treat another person like — and one of those times, the cops were called and I met a few officers. They talked to me like I was a person, even though I was a very small person, and ever since then I wanted to be a cop. I said, “I want to be that person that shows up for those kids.” I was maybe 9 or 10.

My Mom always said I’ve been career driven. I love to do school stuff. I love reading. I was kind of a bit of a nerd, but I also did a lot of sports. When we would go to games I’d be reading, doing my homework on the way there. My Mom used to say, “Just be a kid,” but I liked that structure. Same in high school, same in college.

I worked a lot of different retail. That gave me the chance to sit down and start up conversations with random people and get to know people that you don’t normally talk to, and that helped me with what I’m doing now. And the smile helps.

The police academy was something new. It’s a paramilitary academy so it’s very focused on structure. There’s a lot of screaming — you’re gonna hear screaming on the road, so they get you ready for that. And a lot of school-based activities, too, so you do a lot of report writing, search and seizure, the stuff that you’re gonna need on the road. I would always have note cards. I would help everyone else study. It was more of the physical — I was great at running, but when you got me out there doing pushups and heavier lifting, that was all new to me. I struggled in the beginning.

At first I went to Troop H in Hartford. Nothing like being thrown to the wolves. It is a very fast-paced troop. Everything is done so quickly — it’s mostly highway-based, and things on the highway have to be done quick.

So after I finished my probationary period, I transferred out to Troop C. I wanted more criminal investigations because I’d already known what I wanted to do — I wanted to be a detective. We went to houses, we dealt with mental illness, I dealt with this older lady who always asked for me on dispatch. She always said that I looked like her daughter, who had passed and who had wanted to be a cop.

I actually got hurt on the job. While I was on light duty, I met a lot of the Eastern District Major Crimes guys, the detectives, and they kind of took me under their wing. I have taken threatening cases, I’ve taken cases involving the governor, bomb threats, active shooter threats, I’ve dealt with sex assaults, I have quite a few right now, actually. I’ve taken homicides — some cases that are ongoing right now. Some days are hard. When you go to a case and you deal with a victim that feels like there’s nothing left. They’ve lost everything, like going to homicides.

The sexual assault cases stand out more for me. A lot of these victims feel like they’re not heard or they’re kind of brushed to the side. They’re always amazed when I say, “No, this is going to take dedication, this is gonna take investigative work. I’m going to run this down for you.” I’m very passionate about those cases.

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