Hickman, Carol

In 1971, Carol Hickman was the first woman to take the examination to join the Jefferson County (KY) Police Department. She was one of two women to pass the test and join the officer training class; she would become the first woman and the first African American to head a county police district (a district in eastern Jefferson County).

Hickman was named captain in 1984. She served on the police force for 30 years, starting as a clerk typist when she was 19 years old. Carol Hickman retired in 1998.

For more see "Black History Month: Carol Hickman, Police Captain," Louisville Courier-Journal, 2/06/2008, News section, p. 1B. For an earlier history of women police officers, see the NKAA entry African American Police Women (Louisville, KY).