Cleveland Heights Police Department Mourns Loss of First Woman Officer

Susan Jane Calihan was the first woman officer when she joined the force in 1975

There are now 10 women out of 108 officers on the Cleveland Heights Police Department. But back in 1975, there was just one. Susan Jane Calihan, who died of pneumonia in early March, joined the force after graduating from John Carroll University. Being a police officer was originally just going to be a job, a way to earn money for law school. “You think about a 22-year-old female coming into a police department, where at the time in 1975, was staffed by a lot of veteran policeman, older guys … anybody coming onto a police department, you’re going to be a little bit intimidated,” said Police Chief Jeffrey Robertson, who met her on his first day in 1978. “I just can’t imagine what she felt like coming on the job as the first female.” But she…

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