This incredible lady is my mother and friend. She was raised on a remote Idaho farm driving tractors from the age of 8 with her 4 siblings. She moved to Arizona during high school and began her law enforcement career with Phoenix PD shortly after graduating from ASU. she eventually transferred to Mesa PD to be closer to home. She married at the age of 27 and subsequently had 3 kids. Despite having a spouse who was rarely home and rarely helpful, she began to rise through the ranks in law enforcement due to her intelligence, dependability, integrity and trustworthiness. She became a new Lieutenant while pregnant with my little brother. I still have images of her trying to squeeze into her gun belt and uniform 5 months pregnant. Despite long work hours, especially during years spent working sex crimes where she was on call at all hours, my siblings and I don't remember there ever being a time where we felt alone or like we missed having a mother around. When she was around, she was there 120%. She was and still is an amazing mother and now grandmother. It always surprised me how she was able to leave the stress of police work behind and focus on her family each night. The highlight of her career occurred in the late nineties when she was first promoted to Assistant Chief and then, during 1998, she was appointed to be Chief of Police...Arizona's first female to achieve that rank and one of few nationwide. She is retired from full-time police work now, but I get stopped all the time with former officers and colleagues that tell me how much they respected my mom for her police service and leadership. I respect her because she maintained her dignity and honor doing a job that is often stressful and heartbreaking. Today, she consults for various police agencies, teaches at the community college, serves faithfully in her church, and is the world's best Grandmother. She has been and continues to be the best example of an amazing woman I could ever ask for.

Signed,
Roxie Heussner