Post is 1st full-time female officer

As of 2010, women made up almost 12 percent of all of sworn in police officers in the country.
In Portland’s department of more than 20 officers, several women have served. But none have been full time until now.
Erica Post will be Portland Police Department’s first full-time female officer in the station’s history after being hired May 5.
The 22-year-old always had her sights set on becoming an officer. She wanted to do something that mattered, that was important and worthwhile.
“I’m honored to be the first female officer. I’m ready to get those patches,” said Post. “Can’t wait to start my career.”
A Portland native, Post is a graduate of Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and minor of psychology. She completed 55 hours of job shadowing at the station from October to December 2014, was the department’s first intern from May 11 to July 17, 2015, became a reserve in May 2015 and continued in that role until a full-time position became available. Post has worked all three shifts as a reserve and filled in for other officers without pay.
“She was at the top of the list,” said Police Chief Nathan Springer.
Working as a reserve, Post has dealt with the same conditions as full-time officers. Traffic stops were difficult when dealing with rude drivers, she said. Daytime shift has the most accidents while the late afternoon and evening receives the most calls. On the late shift, a lot of drug and operating while intoxicated calls come in, she said.
Having a female patrol officer at the department is beneficial, Springer said.
A victim of battery may be uncomfortable with a male officer looking at a wound in a sensitive area. Some victims or suspects may feel more at ease if the officer is a woman rather than a man, he said.
Currently, Portland has two other female reserve officers as well as three dispatchers.
In the past, female dispatchers were asked to go in the restroom with a victim to take pictures of the bruises, but wasn’t the right way to handle the situation, Springer said.
Paula Bonvillian, chief communications officer at the station, was the first female unpaid reserve in 1987, a time when women just weren’t applying in law enforcement, she added. The hiring process was different for men and women then.
“They had a separation where women had a (different) type,” Bonvillian recalled about the agility test. “They didn’t have to do as many push ups (and) sit ups as men did. Now men and women have to do the same.”
That’s by state standard, Springer added.
Post remembered being nervous for her physical agility exam. To prepare, she lifted weights, ran and did push ups and other activities almost every day.
The test standards required a 1.5 mile run in 18 minutes, 56 seconds, a 13.5-inch vertical jump, 21 push ups, 24 sit ups in one minute and a 300-meter run in 82 seconds.
In the hiring process, Post submitted an application, passed the agility exam, had an interview and went before the city’s board of works to receive a condition of employment.
Afterward she will have a hearing before the local pension board, and then take her physical and mental exam that will be sent to the state pension board in Indianapolis before she is sworn in. Within a year of her hire, she will go to the Police Academy in Plainfield for 14 weeks and must complete all tasks to secure her spot. It could take up to three months before all of this information is approved.
But Post looks ahead and plans to move up in the force. She would enjoy working as an investigator or sergeant. As for others interested in joining the force, Post indicated a lot is required.
“First it’s not easy,” she said. “It takes a lot of determination. You definitely have to learn how to work with the team but (you) also have to be independent.”