Birmingham resident nominated for Women in Blue Officer of the Year

BIRMINGHAM — For the 11th year, Detroit’s female first responders are being recognized during the Women in Blue breakfast 8:30-9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 23, at MGM Grand Detroit. Attorney General Dana Nessel will be the event’s keynote speaker.

At the event, the Detroit Public Safety Foundation will honor the Detroit Police Department Women in Blue Officer of the Year and the Detroit Fire Department Woman of the Year.

“It is a celebration of their contributions to the community and what they do within the department,” said Carter Drewry, the director of communications, grants and administration for the Detroit Public Safety Foundation. “Every year we recognize a group of women who are nominated by their peers and then selected by the departments for the finalists.”

Detroit Police Lt. Lisa Porter, a Birmingham resident, is one of the 16 finalists for the Women in Blue Officer of the Year award.

Porter has been with the Detroit Police Department for 25 years and has held several roles throughout her time there. She is currently assigned to secondary employment, overseeing a program that helps officers find additional opportunities for pay throughout the community as “secondary” assignments.

When she joined the department in 1998, she worked for a now-closed unit called the housing support section, where they focused on patrols in low-income areas of the city. She was transferred to the gaming unit, which handles the casinos. She was in that position from 2004-2006, when she was promoted to sergeant in the detective unit, where she was in charge of cases and administration.

In 2013, she was transferred to internal affairs, where she worked for approximately nine years. From internal affairs, she was promoted to lieutenant and was in charge of the afternoon shift at the 11th Precinct. From there she was transferred to her current position.

Throughout her career, Porter has been known to mentor young women and encourage them to join the Detroit Police Department. She said she likes to show them the benefits of having a stable and permanent job, and oftentimes she is successful in getting people to join.

“In the Detroit Police Department, as a woman, you have the ability to reach as far as you want to,” Porter said.

Porter said there is equality at the Detroit Police Department, and women are given the same pay and opportunities as men.

“It is a very diverse department where anyone can make it if they put their minds to it,” Porter said.

Prior to pursuing a career in law enforcement, Porter earned an associate degree in culinary arts from the French Culinary Institute and was a pastry chef in New York. However, she decided to change careers after she found that there was not much room for growth or long-term benefits from being a chef. In search of something with more stability, she decided to go into law enforcement, which is something she had always wanted to do.

This month, Porter received her bachelor’s degree from Cleary University in business management. She was given this opportunity through the Detroit Police Department’s partnership with Cleary University. She plans to soon register for a master’s program as well.

Porter said that with this degree, she plans to use her education to benefit others.

“I want to be able to pass on my knowledge and mentor people,” Porter said.

Overall, Porter speaks very highly of the Detroit Police Department and the opportunities it has opened up for her.

“I am proud to say that I am a member of the Detroit Police Department,” Porter said.