MELVINDALE, Mich. – Melvindale police hired their first female officer in 1989. Lockers were added to a bathroom to create a ladies’ locker room. It wasn’t meeting the needs of the three female officers who currently work with the department.
A couple of the lockers themselves opened up in the area of the toilet. There was no privacy door, very little room, and another issue. The ladies’ locker room was a few steps away from the interview room.
“Every time they were using that room, it was (the ladies’ locker room) locked, no access because of guns and pepper spray, and other items that would be stored there,” said Corporal Jessica Winward.
When Whitney Walton heard about the conditions, she wanted to help change them.
“Three women having to sit on a toilet to put boots on, I was like, ‘Oh no, as a woman in law enforcement, you deserve better,’” said Walton.
Walton, now the security coordinator for Marathon Petroleum, spent 23 years working her way up the ranks with Detroit police. She contacted Patti Kukula with the Detroit Public Safety Foundation, and together, Marathon and DPSF helped fund and furnish the transformation of a brand-new ladies’ locker room.
There are lockers large enough to fit the multiple uniforms and gear officers require, an additional locked spot inside each locker for service weapons, and lighted mirrors.
“It brings a little femininity to the locker room,” said Kukula.
But it isn’t about the glam. For the female officers, having extra mirrors is functional since they have to ensure their hair is pulled back and up to standard before they hit the streets.
Planet Fitness donated some of the items in the newly created locker room.
Police Chief Dan Jones is pleased with the transformation.
“The female locker room needed a complete overhaul,” said Jones. “We are grateful to the Detroit Public Safety Foundation and Marathon’s Detroit Refinery for providing our officers with a new locker room that is beyond our expectations and provides our female officers with the space and amenities they deserve. I would like to personally thank everyone involved with this project. Your generosity and hard work are greatly appreciated.”
The transformation didn’t end there. The community break room, which once featured a microwave only, is now a functional kitchen with a refrigerator, stove, and oven. A large table and chairs have also been added with the help of the City of Melvindale and Marathon.
“It’s phenomenal when you have the backing you need,” said Lieutenant Robert Kennary, who says they often share meals together now.