Officer is Busy Woman

When Officer Tanya Padgett joined the Ann Arbor police force, she spent about two years on “limited duty,” writing tickets. When Michigan opened up its ranks to policewomen Officer Padgett was one of three women selected to go to the academy. She then spent three years on Road Patrol, before transferring here to Huron in 1973. Now she’s our very own school police officer.

Officer Padgett covers all criminal offenses that happen on school property. She also helps people with problems they have. She says that this month assaults are down, but “The number one problem is larceny, especially from locker break-ins.”

There are two main problems Officer Padgett says she faces. The first is that a lot of people seem to think of police officers as ‘boogiemen.’ The second is a bit more serious. Many people are taking the five dollar ticket for possession of marijuana as if its nothing more than a traffic ticket. Officer Padgett says that this is not true. If you are under 17 it also goes on your juvenile record. If you are 17 or older it goes down on your records as ‘arrested for drug possession.’

Officer Padgett’s job is anything but routine. There is no set pattern to where her rounds take her.

“I play it by ear. Wherever there seems to be a problem, I go.”

When she has to arrest someone, she reports what happened to the person’s class principal, then their parents and last to the police department. Once a month she makes out a report about what has happened during the whole month.

Officer Padgett is married, has a nine year old son, and is attending Eastern Michigan University as a senior, majoring in Early Education.

It probably seems silly to include a few pieces from my high school newspaper, but hey, it’s where I got my start writing, so why not?