Polly Hanson has worked for Metro since 1981, just five years after the transit police department was born. She came to Metro after spending four years at her first job as a Park Police dispatcher. Now, after 27 years, five of them spent as chief of Transit Police, Hanson is retiring from Metro.
What drew you to work in D.C.?
I grew up here, and I’m a product of District schools. I’m 52, so there was no subway yet, but I actually took Metrobus to get to junior high and high school. I went to college at Temple University in Philadelphia, and honestly, I didn’t have a job in Philadelphia after graduation and my father told met I needed to come home if I didn’t have a job.
What brought you to Metro?
My brother worked at Metro. It was 1981 and the department was just a couple of years old, and my brother thought a woman with a college degree would have opportunities.
Are you going to miss spending time in Metro’s military-style headquarters building?
This is actually a particular type of architecture that is respected and revered. I had an opportunity to be mentored by the people who created the system, and many of the features were actually invented to protect it from crime. The rounded walls in the stations prevent graffiti, they didn’t add public restrooms because of safety concerns, and their heavy reliance on escalators was because stairs provide a lot of dark nooks and crannies.
There are a lot of stories of transit police meeting their significant others on the job. Why is that?
We had a captain who worked here who met his wife the first day on the job. Michael Taborn (Metro’s new police chief) also met his wife on Metro — she was a customer. That’s not uncommon. … I think the transit police feel very connected to our employees and customers, and their safety.
