TPD to honor first female officer who took her own life 36 years ago

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Police Department plans to honor its female officers with a memorial during Women's History Month. 

As the head of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Clara Reynolds is used to helping people in crisis.

However, she is not used to talking about her trauma.

Her mother was Lenora Booth, the first female officer at the Tampa Police Department.

"She made it up to sergeant," said Reynolds. "She was very, very proud of her work. But it certainly did take a toll on her."

Lenora Booth was the first female officer with the Tampa Police Department. 

After joining TPD in 1973, she spent 13 years making undercover drug buys and investigating sex crimes.

In 1986, she took her own life while Clara, who was 16, was at home.

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"None of us really understood in the 80s what this trauma looked like and certainly from a place of a first responder or law enforcement," Reynolds said during an interview Thursday at city hall. "And I think for her in particular, being the only one for so long, I think that there was a pressure on herself."

Clara Reynolds and her mother Lenora Booth. 

On Thursday, city councilors agreed to build a memorial to Booth, and 50 years of coed officers at TPD.

"She was adamant that she did not apply to become a pioneer," explained councilor Luis Viera, who is spearheading the effort to memorialize Booth. "But she happened to be a pioneer."

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In a sign of how far things have come since Booth first joined, not only is TPD led by a woman, but so is Tampa Fire Rescue, and the city itself.

"I hope that it will inspire the current generation, but also future generations that there really aren't any obstacles that we can't get through," said Reynolds.

Booth took her own life in 1986. 

While Reynolds said many factors led to her mother's suicide, she says it is the biggest factor in why she became a social worker.

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"I hope that if my mom was here today, she would know and recognize how important she was," said Reynolds, "in my desire to help the community. I am really following in her footsteps, in a different way of course."

The number of officers who have committed suicide this year is 112 nationwide, while 191 have died in the line of duty.

The memorial to TPD's female officers will be unveiled in March, which is designated as Women's History Month.