DORAL, Fla. – Miami-Dade police Officer Lourdes Hernandez became the first female in Miami-Dade County history Friday to successfully pass the modified SRT boot camp training school.
The five-week intensive course is both physically and mentally draining. It is a feat not lost on women who hope to have a future in law enforcement.
"It means the door is open. And not only is the door open, but there is an example that they can, in fact, succeed if they persevere, if they work hard (and) if they want to do it," Miami-Dade Police Director J.D. Patterson said. "There's an opportunity that is open to them."
Hernandez said Friday's induction was the culmination of a three-year journey for her.
"I tried out two years ago. I didn't make the tryouts," Hernandez told Local 10 News. "So I trained a little bit harder and came back."
Hernandez, whom her friends call "Lou Lou," said there was never a point during boot camp that she considered dropping out.
"I wasn't going to allow anybody to take it from me in one moment of grief or one moment of weakness," she said.
Her parents were gleaming with pride Friday.
"She is a very tough cookie," father Joaquin Hernandez said.
"She has been like that from day one," mother Olivia Hernandez added. "When she was born, whenever she wanted to do something, she made would make sure she did it."
Instructors at the boot camp didn't take it easy on her because she was a woman. In fact, Hernandez said she sometimes felt they were tougher on her.
"She's very tough," instructor Anthony Prieto said. "If not, she wouldn't have made it. There are plenty of guys that started that are not here. "
Hernandez now has to decide whether she wants to join the SWAT team or take her career in another direction. Whatever she decides, it seems likely she will succeed.
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