SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sabrina Briggs is Sacramento Police Department's first Black female lieutenant.
"It's very rewarding, and hopefully, I can inspire more and keep going as far as I can go," Briggs said, who has also served as a spokesperson for the department.
For 14 years, she worked patrol and Internal Affairs. She was later promoted and became the first African American female sergeant at the Sacramento Police Department.
From political unrest and dangerous sideshows to race battles being fought in the Capitol City, her most high profile challenge was working as the first female sergeant Public Information Officer during the height of the pandemic.
However, Briggs is now enjoying another first, she's the first Black female lieutenant. It's a journey that has not been easy.
"People don't call the police because they are having a great day. They call because they need help. As an officer, my role was to make sure I provided that help. As a Lieutenant now, I have sergeants who have their officers, and I keep going up. My goal is to make a difference," she said.
She hopes that her goals and career can inspire others to possibly follow in her footsteps as well.
"There's not too many young African American females when I was growing up who were like, 'I want to be a police officer when I grow up.' In fact, when I brought it up to my parents, my dad was like 'Do what whatever you want,' but Mom was like, 'Really?'"
Chief Kathy Lester told ABC10 earlier this year it's part of her goal as the first female Chief of Police in Sacramento to recruit more women to join the force.
"We just signed on to a cool thing called the 30x30 Initiative, and the goal of that initiative is to try and increase the representation of women in the department to 30% by 2030. Right now, we are about 17%, so not quite where we want to be," Lester told ABC10.
Lt. Sabrina Briggs plans to do her part to help the department reach that goal because she's living proof of one simple fact.
"We do the job just as well. It's gone to the ages where this is a male profession," Briggs said.
The department will be hosting a Female Fitness Challenge to hopefully identify some new recruits. More information can be found HERE.
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