Woman of color serving as interim Austin police chief after 27 years of service
AUSTIN, Texas - This Black History Month, FOX 7 Austin sat down with Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson, a woman of color leading the Austin Police Department.
Chief Henderson says she is living the dream.
"It's pretty amazing. Surreal. I still pinch myself," she said.
However, this is not the job she dreamed of growing up.
"No, not at all," said Chief Henderson.
Chief Henderson grew up on the east side of El Paso. During her time there, she says she got pregnant with her son at 19. It was a journey that fueled her to continue working hard to make ends meet.
"I was a single mom at the time. I was going to the University of Texas at El Paso, taking a full load of classes, and then I was bartending at night. It was proving to be quite a bit of a challenge with my little one," she said.
Chief Henderson says she went to her dad and told him she would be taking time off school to focus on her son, but he had a different plan for his daughter. Chief Henderson says it was her dad who told her to move to Austin to either join APD or the Austin Fire Department.
"I said, ‘yes, dad,’ and I did it," she said.
The Austin Police Department called her first, and so began the start of her career with APD.
In 1997, she moved to Austin with her 3-year-old son not knowing a soul. She started off as a patrol officer and worked her way up through the ranks.
Positions she held included field training officer, detective, sergeant, and lieutenant. Later, it was former APD Chief Joseph Chacon who gave her a big break.
"At that time, he then asked me to be his chief of staff, and [I was] overjoyed, shocked, all of it," said Chief Henderson.
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When former Chief Chacon retired, she became Interim Chief Of Police.
Even though it is a position she never anticipated having, she says she does not take a minute of it for granted, especially being a woman of color.
"I have to represent our community. I need to advocate for communities of color, but not just being a black woman or being an African-American, it's also just being a woman in law enforcement, because law enforcement in and of itself is underrepresented by women," said Chief Henderson.
Chief Henderson says the job is tough, but she does it for her officers and the community.
She says her husband, mother, and son are all tremendously proud of what she has achieved in her almost 27-year career with APD. As for her father, the man who jump started this journey for her, he unfortunately passed away before she was promoted to sergeant, but Chief Henderson says she knows he is proud.
"I'm sure he's looking down now. He's very proud of his baby girl," she said.