Woman makes history as first female police chief in Taos Pueblo
By Sasha Lenninger
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TAOS, N.M. (KOAT) — Summer Mirabal is making history as the first female police chief for the Taos Pueblo Police Department.
“I’ve always wanted to be a cop since I was a little girl,” Mirabel tells KOAT.
Mirabel said she’s always felt a strong desire to help people.
Before she started her career as a cop she was in the military and then worked as a pre-school teacher.
“My boys were really young, so I wanted to wait since I knew I had to go to the police academy,” she said.
She started her law enforcement career with Taos Pueblo before moving around to other departments.
Eventually, she returned to where she started and moved up the ranks.
“I never expected it. I mean I’ve always worked hard because I’ve wanted to be in this position,” she said. “These are my people. I know that I can make a difference and I will see the difference because these people are the people I grew up with my elders, the children and I just wanted to help my people and know that I am helping my people.”
Mirabel gave KOAT a tour around the pueblo where she grew up.
“It’s exciting to see these little girls come up to me or these little boys come up and they’re so excited and happy for me. Everybody is so supportive,” she said.
Mirabel told KOAT that representation is important to her and she hopes her story will help inspire young children that they can do anything they put their mind to.
“I feel like our children don’t have necessarily hopes and dreams anymore and I want them to have that. I want them to have goals and I hope I can do that for them so they can see a Native American woman succeeding and being a positive role model for them,” she said.
And she has this message for all the kids out there, “just keep dreaming. Have that in the back of your head that you can do something bigger than yourself.”
Of the 10-officer department she leads, Mirabal is the only female.
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