After 28 years with the Fairfax County police, Officer Annie Mack-Evans retired last week — the first black female officer to do so at the department.
She’s not one to brag about her career — like the time that she saved her partner’s life or the time that she rescued a senior citizen from choking on a piece of shrimp — but her co-workers have no qualms about showing her off.
“Annie certainly was one of the people who made a difference in our community,” department spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said. “She was very engaged in the community and made a difference in so many lives.”
But Evans is just proud she stuck it out.
“I never dreamed this would be me,” she said. “But it became very clear to me that I had to be the trailblazer. I had to break the mold.”
Evans joined the department in 1984 after graduating from Fairmont State College. As one of only a few black women on the force at the time, she felt an inevitable need to prove her mettle, to carve out her niche in a department made up mostly of men.
“Being female, you’re just trying to find your way in a predominantly male profession ?– trying to keep your identity and still earn the respect of your co-workers,” she said.
She made it her goal to expand the cultural makeup of the department. Fairfax County is diverse: though more than half of the population identified as white, Asian and Hispanic residents each made up more than 15 percent of the county in 2010, and blacks made up 9 percent, according to U.S. census data.
Evans spent the last 10 years of her career on the Human Resources Recruitment team, searching for officers with varied backgrounds.
“It’s important when you go into a diverse community that you have someone who is representative of the people,” she said.
Now, she’s ready to kick back for a while, a testament to the power of a woman in law enforcement.
“We can do what everyone else can do,” Evans said. “We just might have to do it in a different way.”
