Josephine Serrano Collier
Josephine Serrano Collier (March 14, 1922 – February 25, 2014) was the first Latina woman to join the Los Angeles Police Department.{{cite news|last=Colker|first=David|date=2014-03-22|title=Josephine Serrano Collier dies at 91; LAPD's first Latina officer|work=Los Angeles Times|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/22/local/la-me-josephine-serrano-collier-20140323|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330112158/http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar/22/local/la-me-josephine-serrano-collier-20140323|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 30, 2014|access-date=2019-03-16|issn=0458-3035}}{{Cite web|title=LAPD Pays Tribute To Josephine Serrano Collier, A Latina Pioneer|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/03/19/291475068/lapd-pays-tribute-to-josephine-serrano-a-police-pioneer-for-latinas|access-date=2021-04-09|website=NPR.org|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2014-03-18|title=First Latina Woman To Join LAPD Dies At 91|url=https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/03/18/first-hispanic-woman-to-join-lapd-died-at-91/|access-date=2021-04-09|website=CBSLA.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Police History: 5 trailblazing women in law enforcement|url=https://www.police1.com/evergreen/articles/police-history-5-trailblazing-women-in-law-enforcement-n0IOYUl6OM930ZwL/|access-date=2021-04-09|website=Police1|language=en}}
Early life
Career
Collier worked for the Lockeed Corporation building P-38 Ventura fighter planes during World War II.{{Cite web|title=Death of First LAPD Latina Police Woman NR14111rf - Los Angeles Police Department|url=https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/news_view/55816|access-date=2021-06-07|website=www.lapdonline.org}}
In 1946, she was one of nine women to be hired by the Los Angeles Police Department. Of these nine women, Collier was the only one of Mexican descent making her the first Latina woman to join the Los Angeles Police Department.
In 1951, she posed as a distressed patient. Dr. Ralph Reed, a practicing physician for 28 years, felt so sorry for her he knocked $20 off his usual $100 abortion fee. Collier paid him in marked bills. {{Cite web|title=Horrifying stories of women chased down by the LAPD abortion squad before Roe vs. Wade|website=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-31/the-lapd-abortion-squad-pre-roe-vs-wade}}
Collier retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 1960.
Personal life
Collier married fellow officer, Darwin "Jack" Collier. The couple, who had three children, moved to Idaho and later to Arizona where Collier died at the age of 91.