Policewoman who dealt with years of 'sexist' comments gains huge online following with candid photos of life on the beat in the hope to change public opinion of female officers
Policewoman who dealt with years of 'sexist' comments gains huge online following with candid photos of life on the beat in the hope to change public opinion of female officers
A police officer has amassed 30,000 followers on Instagram in just seven months after sharing pictures of her life on the beat which she hopes will change public opinion of policewomen.
Ashley Smith, 29, from Onondaga County, New York, can be seen flexing her impressive biceps from her patrol car, holding a raccoon that she rescued and getting ready to work out in the gym.
Ashley, who has been a cop for nine years, also shares hilarious videos where she pokes fun at her life on the force.
Despite her lighthearted attitude towards her career, Ashley admits that she has previously struggled with sexist attitudes towards her role.
'To be honest the beginning of my career was very rough; I had a chief of police at my first agency that did not like women and who did everything in his power to get us fired,' she claims.
'There were four females hired at the same time and three of them were fired. They tried to fire me but I did nothing wrong for them to have any reason to.
'I'll never forget being told by my boss that "women do not belong in this field" and that I was meant to be "seen and not heard". I cried.
'I was 21-years-old and mortified as he did this in front of a large group of co-workers. When I went to complain things got much worse. I was taken out of my patrol vehicle and put on a bicycle for nine out of the twelve months of the year. In New York it's cold and snows for six out of the twelve months.'
However, Ashley reveals that she has since managed to find a more comfortable role in a force elsewhere.
She continued: 'It took me five years to finally be able to sneak away and get hired by my current agency where my chief here is the most amazing respecting man I've ever met besides my father.
'He looked me in the eyes and told me he was giving me a chance, fast forward four years and he tells me I'm one of the best hires he has ever had and says he is lucky he was able to hire me.
'In New York women are still treated very badly, like we don't belong, it's come leaps and bounds but it's still terrible.'
Ashley works 40 hours a week at one police department and does one shift a week at another agency.
She works in the patrol, training and traffic division and is also a taser, missing person, domestic violence and rape aggression defence instructor.
A police officer has amassed 30,000 followers on Instagram in just seven months after sharing pictures of her life on the beat which she hopes will change public opinion of policewomen.
Ashley Smith, 29, from Onondaga County, New York, can be seen flexing her impressive biceps from her patrol car, holding a raccoon that she rescued and getting ready to work out in the gym.
Ashley, who has been a cop for nine years, also shares hilarious videos where she pokes fun at her life on the force.
Despite her lighthearted attitude towards her career, Ashley admits that she has previously struggled with sexist attitudes towards her role.
'To be honest the beginning of my career was very rough; I had a chief of police at my first agency that did not like women and who did everything in his power to get us fired,' she claims.
'There were four females hired at the same time and three of them were fired. They tried to fire me but I did nothing wrong for them to have any reason to.
'I'll never forget being told by my boss that "women do not belong in this field" and that I was meant to be "seen and not heard". I cried.
'I was 21-years-old and mortified as he did this in front of a large group of co-workers. When I went to complain things got much worse. I was taken out of my patrol vehicle and put on a bicycle for nine out of the twelve months of the year. In New York it's cold and snows for six out of the twelve months.'
However, Ashley reveals that she has since managed to find a more comfortable role in a force elsewhere.
She continued: 'It took me five years to finally be able to sneak away and get hired by my current agency where my chief here is the most amazing respecting man I've ever met besides my father.
'He looked me in the eyes and told me he was giving me a chance, fast forward four years and he tells me I'm one of the best hires he has ever had and says he is lucky he was able to hire me.
'In New York women are still treated very badly, like we don't belong, it's come leaps and bounds but it's still terrible.'
Ashley works 40 hours a week at one police department and does one shift a week at another agency.
She works in the patrol, training and traffic division and is also a taser, missing person, domestic violence and rape aggression defence instructor.
Comments
Post a Comment