INDIANAPOLIS — Catherine Cummings has served in many roles within the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
After serving more than two decades, she is now an assistant chief of IMPD.
"I believe absolutely in leading by example, and I take very seriously that responsibility that I have," Cummings said.
Her taste of law enforcement came while she was interning for a local Indianapolis television station and was front and center at a fatal car crash scene.
"It was a very real moment for me. I had a huge growing opportunity there in that moment and then watching the officers behind the scenes," Cummings said. "All along, I wanted a job that gave me the opportunity to go places and see things and experience things and meet people that not everybody gets to do in their day-to-day life."
She found her passion to serve and said her parents were always supportive.
"They taught me that I can do anything that I wanted to do, so long as I was willing to work hard enough to do it," Cummings said.
And she did, playing a variety of sports as a child and throughout high school and later graduating from IU Bloomington with a degree in journalism/speech communications.
"I was someone who was always driven," Cummings said.
She was driven to succeed, even through some challenges.
"One of the most shocking things for me was when I was in the academy, and I'm excelling academically, I'm excelling physically, and there was actually someone who was hired with me, who was a man, and looked at me and said, 'Women don't belong here,'" Cummings said.
In fact, women do and have belonged on the force.
IMPD highlights a wall of honor for the many women who have made history.
For example, Emma Christy Baker became the first woman and the first Black female officer of the Indianapolis Police Department in 1918.
Elizabeth Robinson and Betty Blankenship became the first women assigned to patrol together for the Indianapolis Police Department in 1968.
"I can never lose sight of what the women before me went through. For any difficulties that I've faced or any women coming behind me may face, those women had it more difficult than we do," Cummings said.
And in a career where women are rising to the top. Cummings said 30% of IMPD's command staff is women.
The goal is to increase that number even higher.
IMPD will hold a free workshop called "Women Behind The Badge" on Saturday, March 23 from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at 901 N. Post Road. Attendees will be able to ask questions of other women on the force.
EDITOR'S NOTE: IMPD initially said Catherine Cummings was the first woman to be appointed an assistant chief of IMPD. However, the department issued a correction March 12, confirming Eva Talley-Sanders was the first woman to hold the title from 2007-2008 after the merger between the Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Department.