LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Debra Gauthier never planned on becoming a police officer. In fact, she was pursuing an art degree at Arizona State University on a full ride scholarship for diving. Life had other plans.
“I was diagnosed with advanced stages of malignant melanoma. So that is the Black Widow of the cancers. Usually, when they diagnose you, it's fatal,” Gauthier said.
Gauthier lost her scholarship but won her fight with cancer. She went on to work her way through college at UNLV.
“And really, facing death at a young age, because I was only 18 years old, I really started to think about what I wanted my life to be about,” Gauthier said.
“It made me really feel like I wanted to make a difference.”
After applying to the Navy and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, LVMPD called first.
She was one of 50 recruits and one of five women that entered the academy. In 1981, she was one of 21 LVMPD graduates and the only woman to make it through to graduation.
“I was the first woman hired under the same standards as men. So I was the gal that went from the academy to patrol, and I probably spent about 75 percent of my career on patrol on the streets,” Gauthier said.
Gauthier says she was also the first woman on the police academy staff and helped launch the first Metro bike patrol in 1990. She says she was able to earn respect while working some dangerous scenes.
“I knew that I could not show any fear, because the minute you show fear, you're done."
At 5’2”, Gauthier says she single-handedly arrested wanted men who were known to fight police officers.
“I said, 'you have a flag on you that you will fight officers if arrested. Why didn’t you fight me?' And I’ll never forget what he said. He looked at me and said, 'Ma’am, this is the first time I’ve been to jail without a beating,'” Gauthier said.
Knowing her own strengths allowed Gauthier to lead with compassion.
“The way I survived 21 years was respect. You give respect, you get respect."
Gauthier says doing things differently as a woman came with plenty of pushback.
“When you are paving the way and doing a good job, not everybody likes that,” Gauthier said.
She’s now offering advice for other women who face adversity in male-dominated fields:
“Don’t compromise and be who you are. Be true to yourself and stand up. I stood up when things were not right.”
Gauthier is now working at a firearms training center for women in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee. She has written much more about her journey in law enforcement and what helped her find peace after she retired from her career in her book Bright Lights, Dark Places.
