LOS ANGELES (AP) – Renata Phillip was 11 years into a satisfying teaching career when she shocked her friends and family last August by deciding to make a drastic career change: become a police officer.
Her decision came amid growing concern over police tactics in the wake of a number of deaths at the hands of officers of unarmed black men across the country. Most recently, the fatal police shooting of a black man who had a gun in his hand police sparked violent unrest in Milwaukee.
Phillip, a black woman who grew up in a mostly white, upper middle class neighborhood 30 miles east of Los Angeles, said she wasn’t motivated by race. But race is a motivation now as she completes her training to become a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.
“Everything that’s going on, it drives me to work a little harder,” the 36-year-old said during a break at the department’s grueling training academy.
Phillip hopes to be an example to those who’ve never dealt with a black law enforcement officer. “If I can have a positive experience with someone and maybe help them change their mind, why not?” she said.