Page 53 - March 2022

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Pena’s maternal instincts — she’s a single mother of twin girls — are evident in how she builds rapport through her own sto- ries and experiences to get officers to open up. Whether they tell her a full story or ask for a clinician to assist, Pena is driven by what’s best for each individual.
“I always tell them, ‘You don’t have to tell me everything. Just tell me how I can help you,’” she offered. “All my peers that I’ve worked with, I feel there’s a level of trust where they know they can come to me. I’m not here to judge. We’re all human. Just giv- ing them that comfort and letting them see I cry, too ... they start to trust me more. I give them a little so they give me something.”
She also gives her time to new female officers, encouraging them to speak up if something doesn’t feel right. Like she does with so many others, Pena tells the young women to “give us a call” and means it.
Through all her own challenges — including her mother, Irene, passing in 2018 — Pena has never reconsidered her deci- sion to become a cop.
“I just feel like it’s in my blood. This is what I was supposed to do with myself. I was supposed to be the police,” she said with a tone of affirmation.
Any additional support she needs comes from her daughters, Jeilani and Leilani.
“They love the police. By the time they were 3 years old ... they knew if they couldn’t remember my phone number, dial 911 and tell the police that mama’s the police,” Pena proudly shared. “The first time they did a [school] presentation, they were, like, 6. The first thing was ‘Who is your hero?’ and they both said ‘Mom,’ so I think I’m doing a good job there.”
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