Miami-Dade Officer Makes History, Grads SRT Course

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Miami-Dade police Officer Lourdes Hernandez has done something no other female officer on the force has accomplished.

On Friday, she will be the first female officer to graduate from the department's Special Response Team - Basic Course since its inception in 1994.

The SRT Basic Course is five weeks long and includes intense physical training, shooting, special scenarios, repelling, diving and dealing with chemical agents. The course, which is rigorous and intense, prepares officers for what they may encounter at all types of threat levels.

Hernandez is an 18-year veteran of the force.