AUSTIN (KXAN) — The first-ever all women Austin Police Department calendar is about to go on sale, and the Austin Police Association is holding a celebration to mark the event.
Proceeds from the calendars will go to Austin Cops for Charities, which helps local nonprofits involved in education and youth development, as well as helping officers and their families in times of need.
The 2018 Warrior Women of APD calendar, which will be revealed Thursday morning, hopes to show “the real female officer.”
“It was an effort to show the public a version of us, the police, from the viewpoint of officers instead of through the eyes of Hollywood or the perspective of a viral video,” said Valencia Escobar, executive director of the APA.
“From what we could find, the images of the female officer as a professional and as a human being have rarely been fused this way. We believed we could bring this concept to life in the form of a charity calendar and, hopefully, encourage other agencies to build on this idea,” Escobar continued.
As to why there are no men in the calendar, the association says male calendars dominate these projects and they want to salute the 12 percent who service alongside the men in blue. The calendar will show the women cops in the various daily tasks — from going to the range and solving crimes to directing a felony car stop and working out to be ready for duty.
The producer behind the project, Officer Susana Sanchez, said at the beginning there was a great deal of apprehension that their project wouldn’t be approved. “However, months of preparation and supportive meeting with Chief Manley helped us to complete the calendar,” she said.
One of the participants, Officer Amanda Santeford, told KXAN, “[It’s about] showing the public too that we’re more than just a uniform, showing our male counterparts that we’re more than just a pretty face or a de-escalation tool, that the calls don’t discriminate.”
The Police Association event will be held at 10 a.m. at the Austin Police Association, located at 5817 Wilcab Rd. in Austin. For bulk purchases, you can call the APA Office at 512-474-6993.
A behind-the-scenes video has been posted on the Police Association’s Facebook page ahead of the calendar launch, which you can watch by clicking here.
