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by Vince Castellanos '92
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"As an officer, I've faced more challenges being a woman than a black woman," says Cornelia Lott '80, a police lieutenant in Chicago.
STEVE LEONARD '74
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Cornelia Lott '80, police lieutenant, Chicago
Why law enforcement?
I majored in psychology and enjoyed listening to people. After Mac I was a social worker; I made sure people sentenced to community service instead of jail actually fulfilled their commitment. I was always around officers and a friend of mine became one. He was incredibly mild-mannered, so I thought if he could do it, I could, too. My mom didn't understand and was dead-set against it; I'm an only child and had been very sheltered.
What are your duties?
I spent five years as a patrol officer, then was promoted to sergeant and worked plainclothes. I became a lieutenant in 2005 and work in the community policing program. We develop educational, resource and cultural programs for local residents, and I work a lot with local business and youth groups.
Officers are in a real precarious position--we get a lot of bad press; most of what people hear about is negative. Every step we take or bridge we build in the community can be destroyed by one person.
How do you deal with the dangers?
I'm expecting people to be angry or in distress. We meet two kinds: victims and offenders. It can be discouraging; people aren't calling you because they're having a tea party, and not everyone does what you say just because you wear a uniform. But you don't think about the dangers because you're trained for anything and you know what's possible.
When I see kids left to fend for themselves with no food or clothing, I'll buy them things out of my own pocket, and that's universal among officers.
--Cornelia Lott '80
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What's the worst crime you face?
Crime involving children. I've seen it all--neglect, abuse, incest--and it's hard. When I see kids left to fend for themselves with no food or clothing, I'll buy them things out of my own pocket, and that's universal among officers. We all react the same way to that.
As an African-American, has racism ever been an issue for you?
During training there wasn't a color barrier. Instructors treated everyone the same: badly. As an officer, I've faced more challenges being a woman than a black woman. I'm fortunate; the road has been paved by female officers who came before me. Some people don't want to take orders from a female supervisor, but I've never had a problem. I've worked with very supportive people--women and men. But this is still a segregated society with a lot of racial tension. There are people who won't talk to officers if they're a different color.
How did Macalester prepare you?
Being a minority in a mainstream, majority environment taught me to deal with society and other people on their level. I learned about new cultures and how to assimilate and think like the majority. I still use my psychology degree [and recently earned a master's in police psychology]; that's a lot of what we do. You have to communicate with people and quickly assess a situation and evaluate options.
What's the best part of the job?
Not the uniform, because on women it's god-ugly [laughs]. I've met a lot of different kinds of people and been exposed to lots of society. Some of it isn't good, but I needed to know that. You can't be narrow-minded and think that a person was raised a certain way or has food or shelter or the things we take for granted. You can't assume they're doing OK in life. I've become much more aware and understanding.
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