Edmonds’ first female police officer retires after decades of service

EDMONDS — Edmonds Police Sgt. Debbie Smith has a strong handshake and more years of service under her belt than any other police officer in the city.

Smith, who will be 55 this year, officially retires this week after more than 30 years with the department. She’s been easing away from the job over the last several weeks.

“I’ve had some difficulty detaching from this profession,” she said during an interview Sunday afternoon. “There is a component to this job that you are not going to find anywhere else. And I miss it.”

Smith was the first female police officer in Edmonds and one of the first female police sergeants in Snohomish County.

She started in 1976. That was years before there were uniforms and bulletproof vests designed to fit women, Smith said.

Women who worked in police departments during that era typically wrote parking tickets and served as clerks, said Edmonds Police Chief Al Compaan. Smith broke through and earned the title “patrolman” years before the term “patrol officer” was coined.

“When Debbie started, she really was a pioneer,” Compaan said.

The language, and attitudes, started changing in the 1980s as more women entered the traditionally male-dominated profession, Compaan said.

The practice really spread after affirmative action programs were launched, but female officers often were looked down upon, Smith said. In the early days, some of Smith’s male counterparts felt she didn’t deserve her job. Smith proved them wrong; she took nothing for granted.

Women who are going into law enforcement today shouldn’t take it for granted either, she said.

“I hope they appreciate the opportunity. They need to make it a job because they deserve it, and not because they are women,” she said. “I earned it, and so should they.”

Smith endured some harsh things during her career. She recently reviewed some old work papers. In one evaluation form from the 1970s, a supervisor wrote “Wow” under “appearance.” Another line speculated that she may “cause marital problems” among male officers.

Smith said she worked hard to be taken seriously.

It was by chance that Smith made her life’s work in Edmonds, she said. She applied and was denied at other police departments, including Seattle and Belle­vue. The Washington State Patrol didn’t even give her a shot. Applicants then were required to stand at least 6 feet tall.

In Edmonds, officials thought differently, Smith said. “It was because of supporters who were willing to take a chance to have the first female patrolman in the city.”

After Smith got hired, she was commuting from Granite Falls to the police academy in SeaTac. She did that while still caring for her twin baby daughters.

The twins, Janelle and Shanna Duncan, now 32, each have a luscious bundle of dark hair, dark eyes and a bold sense of style.

“We weren’t supposed to be twins; we were supposed to be a 13-pound boy,” said Shanna Duncan, who lives with her husband and 3-year-old son in Tacoma. She designs snowboard clothing and graphics.

Janelle Duncan lives in Lake Stevens and works as a makeup artist.

Being raised by cops played a big role in who they have become, the Duncan sisters said. Their dad and their step dad, Mike Smith, also worked in law enforcement. “There is a certain candor in growing up with police officers,” Janelle Duncan said.

“She’s the only mom I know that had a handgun,” Shanna Duncan recalled. “Dating was interesting: When my very first boyfriend wanted to take me out on a date, she took him for a test drive,” she laughed.

At work, fellow officers described Smith as the kind of leader who pushed you to do your best and defended you to the end.

“You wanted to do the best job you could just so that you didn’t disappoint her,” said Sgt. Don Anderson.

Smith said she leaves proud of the work she’s done over the years, and proud of those she’s worked beside.

“This profession, I think, is gifted to certain people.” Smith said. “Not everyone can do it. But the ones who can, they can really make a difference.”

Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.