New York: An Indian-origin police officer, Captain Pratima Bhullar Maldonado has become the highest-ranking South Asian woman in the New York Police Department, after her recent promotion.
Media reported that Maldonado runs the 102nd Police Precinct in South Richmond Hill, Queens. She was promoted to the rank of Captain last month. The mother of four was born in Punjab and lived there until she was 9 before moving to Queens in New York.
"It feels like coming home. I spent more than 25 years of my life in this precinct when I was growing up," Maldonado said. South Richmond Hill is home to one of the largest Sikh communities in the country.
"Going to the same Gurdwara that I did as a child, and now as a captain, I love it," Maldonado said as she visited the gurdwara. "There are language barriers, people who can't speak the language, English is a second language. I've seen that firsthand growing up here," she said.
"Getting out there and working, and protecting people that are cursing you out sometimes and not appreciating what you're doing, but you still got to do what you got to do," Maldonado said.
"It's a big responsibility. I want to set a better and positive example, not only for my community, for other females, kids that see us every day. Because that would change their perspective of how they view law enforcement," she added.
According to the NYPD, of the department's 33,787 members, 10.5 per cent are Asian.