Black police recruit works to shatter perceptions

Phillip was 11 years into a satisfying teaching career when she shocked her friends and family in August 2015 by deciding to make a drastic career change: becoming 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.

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. 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.

Photo: Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy recruit Renata Phillip trains with Steve Erickson during a defensive tactics class at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 29, 2016.

Black police recruit

Phillip listens to a lecture in a classroom at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, Calif., July 19, 2016.

More than half of the recruits are men and most are white or Hispanic. Only three recruits out of every 100 will make it to graduation, said Capt. Scott Gage, who’s in charge of training at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Black officers made up about 12 percent of all police in 2013, the most recent year nationwide statistics are available. That compares to the overall black population of 13.2 percent.

Departments have long struggled to recruit black candidates, said Nelson Lim, a researcher at the Rand Corp. who helps organizations diversify. The LAPD is under a federal consent decree to hire more minorities.

Black police recruit

A little more than a year ago, Asia Hardy was in Phillip’s shoes, training to become an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department.

The 26-year-old, who grew up in an idyllic, close-knit neighborhood in Pasadena, has been a probationary officer for just over a year, working the beat she requested in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

She said Phillip should expect both criticism and pride on the streets. “I get called a sellout sometimes,” she said. Some will tell her: “Why are you doing the white man’s job?” Others see Hardy as a beacon. She wanted to become a police officer to serve as an example to other black people.

“They’ll say, ‘I’m glad you’re out here representing us,’” she said. “Or you get the little girl pointing at you and saying, ‘Look, Mommy, there’s a girl cop.’ Things like that make my day. I want that little girl to know she can grow up and be a cop if she wants to.

Hardy plays with her daughter, 4-year-old Mali Hudson, outside her home in Altadena, California, August 11, 2016.

Black police recruit

In the days after a sniper attack killed five of his officers last month, Dallas Police Chief David Brown urged black people to leave protests and join the department to work for change from within.

“Serve your community,” said Brown, who is black. “We’re hiring. Get off of that protest line and put your application in.”

Phillip, top, trains with Robert Nichols during a defensive tactics class at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 29, 2016.

Black police recruit

Philip was settled into her teaching career at Ganesha High School in Pomona, a middle-class city near her hometown of Diamond Bar but far from it in terms of gangs and violent crime.

She decided to become an officer after realizing she was spending more and more time helping her students with problems outside the classroom, and that she was enjoying it.

Phillip sits in a sheriff’s vehicle during her training at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 19, 2016.

Black police recruit

One student in Philip’s school had lost a friend to gang violence. He started acting out by disrupting class, getting into drugs and into trouble. She worked to gain his trust and build rapport, which eventually allowed her to find out what was bothering him and help him transfer to another school. The change removed him from negative influences, allowing him to focus on school.

Phillip stands still while waiting for her training to start at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 19, 2016.

Black police recruit

“Now you see a person who has taken charge of their past and isn’t letting someone else determine what they will or won’t do,” Philip said. “I thought, ‘I need to spend more time doing this.’”

Black police recruit

Phillip trains with David Pascual, left, and Robert Nichols during a defensive tactics class at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 29, 2016.

Black police recruit

Only three recruits out of every 100 will make it to graduation, said Capt. Scott Gage, who’s in charge of training at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Phillip listens to an instructor during a defensive tactics class at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 29, 2016.

Black police recruit

In charge of training, Capt. Gage cited extensive background checks, rigorous physical requirements, dozens of tests and determination to stick with the yearlong process as reasons many recruits don’t make it through the program.

Phillip pauses for photos at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 19, 2016.

Black police recruit

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.

Phillip listens to recruit training officer Sean Essex at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 19, 2016.

Black police recruit

Phillip’s mother worked as an accountant, her father as an engineer. When Phillip told her family about her decision to join law enforcement, there were tears.

“My heart really just sank,” said Phillip’s mother, Gloria Solomon. “Honestly, this is awful to say as a mother, but I almost wished she didn’t get through.”

Solomon said she was concerned not because of racial tensions in the U.S., but simply because policing is a dangerous job.

After praying about it and seeing how passionate her daughter was about law enforcement, Solomon said she’s now fully on board.

“I’m just really proud of her and I just really want her to be safe,” she said.

Phillip draws a weapon during her training at the Biscailuz Regional Training Center in Monterey Park, California, July 19, 2016.

Becoming a police officer

“I knew a lot of African Americans live there and I wanted to be there to reach out, I want everybody to do better,” she said. “Them seeing me out there and knowing, ‘Wow, there goes a female cop. A black female cop.’ I wanted to be that example.”

Phillip also hopes to work in troubled neighborhoods.

“If I’m not putting myself in the position to really effect change then what am I doing?” she said. “Hopefully somewhere I have the opportunity to change someone’s mind. Hopefully that someone standing on the news protesting maybe sees me on the street one day and says, ‘Maybe I could do that.’”