HATS OFF!! A lifetime Of Service To Las Vegas By Beatrice Dyess, From Trailblazing Officer To Chaplain

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Beatrice Dyess recalls being dissatisfied to see neighbourhood police officers "horsing around" when she first came to Las Vegas in 1951 as a grade school student.

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She then made the decision to join the police department in order to bring about change.

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She joined the Metro Police Department as the first Black female officer little over 20 years later.

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Dyess, who is now 76, said: "I just thought, 'One day, I'm going to become a police officer to see if I can make a positive change

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Because that was desperately needed back then, and perhaps even more so today.In May 1969, Dyess started working a desk job with the then-Clark County Sheriff's Office.

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The department was forced to hire female patrol officers when the sheriff's office and the Las Vegas Police Department were combined into Metro in 1973.

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Dyess said that she was the only one of the five women who enrolled in the police academy the next year to finish the course of study.

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Dyess claimed that she had a great experience at the academy and had learned a lot. But as soon as she got her degree and started patrolling

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I always thought becoming a police officer would be pretty cool because I thought it would be like one big happy family, she added

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