LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — For years now, policing has been at the forefront of conversations surrounding quality of life for many Black Americans.
Channel 13 reporter Sean Delancey brings us inside the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and tells us the stories of Black officers using their positions to connect with diverse communities.
Unique Durrough grew up playing at Lorenzi Park and playing tennis at the Andre Agassi Boys' and Girl's Club, where her dad worked on the Historic Westside.
"I actually have lifelong friends, and my coach, I still actually talk to her," Durrough said.
Now, she wears a badge for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
"It's still weird to me that I'm in this position," Durrough said.
She's patrolled the streets in her 5 1/2 years at the department. But now she's a recruiter, bringing testing and training opportunities to the Westside, a majority-Black area of the Las Vegas valley.
She says it's important to go to the diverse communities for recruitment to ensure the department reflects one of the most diverse cities in the country.
"It just kind of shows people that we are trying to break down the barriers and bridge that gap, because we need to. So, for me, it's like, OK, she can do it, she's OK, I know her. At the end of the day this uniform and this badge comes off, and I'm just a regular person," Durrough said.
Durrough says that familiarity, that connection, is critical in crime fighting and recruitment — especially when the kids are watching.
"They're like, 'Oh, she looks like me. I want to be a police officer one day,' is super impactful," Durrough said.
But once those kids grow up, just like Durrough did, they've got to be trained.
"We get them from the day they go into the academy," says Cpt. Kurt McKenzie with Metro's Organizational Development Bureau.
McKenzie has that job. He says a comfort level comes from looking like the force you're trying to join.
FOSTERING CONNECTIONS
"Law enforcement across the country is a white, male-dominated field. So, when you have a police officer that reaches the level of a captain or higher, and they look like you, it makes it like, 'Well I can do that as well,'" McKenzie said.
The captain says Black recruitment and development helps foster connections with the Black community that develop beyond skin color, to culture and experience.
"I know what it's like to be in their shoes. I've walked in their shoes before. Just because now I'm a police officer, doesn't mean I haven't walked in their shoes. That's the important part. It goes past skin color," McKenzie said.
Durrough says her goal is to recruit universally, but she deeply wants more Black women to enter policing. She's got a message for little girls of color like she once was.
"If this is something you really want to do, nothing can stop you. If you're passionate about becoming a police officer and moving up the chain, nothing will stop you, because you are powerful. You are more powerful than you know," Durrough said.
Durrough's next pop-up testing session is coming up soon, on Feb. 18 at Del Sol High School. Walk-ups are welcome, and you can take the written and physical exams at the same time.
