Mary Sikes, 70, Graduates from Lone Star Law Enforcement Academy; Will Serve as a Reserve Deputy

Houston -- Coming out of high school it was Mary Sikes dream to join the Houston Police Force, but back then they required 60 college credits before one was allowed entrance. Mary Sikes entered college in Beloit, Wis, but while there, she met and fell in love with her husband, Tommy Sikes. She married and made a promise to her husband that she would stay home to raise the kids.

Putting her college career on hold Sikes went on to have a happy marriage. However, this mother of two and grandmother of four never gave up on her dream of being a policeman. In a Houston Chronicle article she said, "Ever since I was a teenager I wanted to be a homicide detective. I was raised during World War II in a family that had rules and believed in duty, honor and love of country. That was the norm. I never outgrew it." She started writing a book about a woman going through the police academy, but admits she couldn't get the kind of access she wanted to the department.

It was during her research for the book that she met Chief Deputy David Wood of the Montgomery County Precinct 5 Constable's Office, the two developed a friendship. It was Wood who encouraged Sikes to follow her dream and enter the Lone Star College Law Enforcement Academy. Lone Star's Academy has no age restriction. Deputy Wood promised Sikes a job if she graduated and passed the state mandated test.

Well on Monday Sikes passed the, rigorous, 3 hour state exam and became one of four people from her class to land a job before graduation. After passing the exam, Sikes was sworn in as a reserve deputy for Montgomery County's Precinct 5 Constable's Office. Lone Star College's Law Enforcement course lasts11 months and consists of the completing and passing 40 hours of firearm training, 40 hours of driving training as well as 40 hours of arrest technique. The course also covers 30 additional topics. According to the courses lead instructor, Robert Lovelace, Sikes is thought to be the oldest woman to finish from the Law Enforcement Academy.

After 50 years of marriage, Sikes husband died of Parkinson 's disease in January, Sike's says he knew what she wanted to do and he supported her completely. She said in the Chronicle article that she asked her husband if she'd lost her mind and he said no. "He gave me handcuffs for Christmas," she added.

Sikes' 48-year-old son admits that initially he thought his mom was nuts, be he knew she'd make it through the course. When asked on a local newscast if she would be out on the street involved in any take downs, Sikes said, according to the Chronicle: "Even I have sense enough to know that I'd be a liability out on the streets. I'll be working behind a desk in the office." As a reserve deputy, Sikes is a volunteer and according to the Chief Deputy, her duties will include answering phones, public relations and community outreach such as fingerprinting kids for 'child find' programs.

Sikes becomes one of 19 reserve deputies working for the Montgomery County Precinct 5 Constable's Office. Though no release date is available for Sikes' book, the tentative title is "Ride Along."

Sources

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5912401.html