Oral history interview with Patricia E. Martin, 2016.

Biographical Note

Patricia Martin is a retied lieutenant of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). She was an active member of the NYPD Guardians Association and remains so after retirement. She was born in 1951 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Her early career was spent as a nurse in Saint Vincent's Hospital before joining the NYPD in 1981. During her 27 years on the force she was one of the earliest African American women to be promoted to sergeant, and within Brooklyn North, where she served, she was the first. She also worked for the Internal Affairs Bureau and the moved to Employee Relations after he promotion the lieutenant

Scope and Contents

Patricia Martin describes her time in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. As an African American woman she overcame prejudice to rise through the ranks and gain promotions, and explains some key ways that she was helped by the NYPD Guardians Association along the way. She specifically cites legal actions taken against the NYPD in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Additionally she discusses her childhood in Brooklyn, NY, during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as her experience of the many political awakenings of the 1960s and 1970s. She closes with he views on how the NYPD Guardians Association has evolved over the years and what its role in the future may become

Subjects

• African American police--New York (State)--New York.
• Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)--History.
• Interviews.
• Martin, Patricia--Interviews.
• NYPD Guardians Association.
• New York (N.Y.). Police Department--History.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Policewomen--New York (State)--New York.
• Strong, Liz, interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2016