Josephine Serrano Collier (March 14, 1922 – February 25, 2014) was the first Latina woman to join the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

Early life

Collier grew up in

Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles Lincoln Heights is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was originally called "East Los Angeles" from 1873 to 1917. It is a densely populated, mostly Latino and Asian neighborhood. It includes many histori ...

Career

Collier worked for the Lockeed Corporation building P-38 Ventura fighter planes during World War II.{{Cite web, title=Death of First LAPD Latina Police Woman NR14111rf - Los Angeles Police Department, url=https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/news_view/55816, access-date=2021-06-07, website=www.lapdonline.org In 1946, she was one of nine women to be hired by the Los Angeles Police Department. Of these nine women, Collier was the only one of Mexican descent making her the first Latina woman to join the Los Angeles Police Department. Collier retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 1960.

Personal life

Collier married fellow officer, Darwin "Jack" Collier. The couple, who had three children, moved to Idaho and later to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

where Collier died at the age of 91.

References

People from Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles 2014 deaths American women police officers Los Angeles Police Department officers 21st-century American women 1922 births