FAIRHOPE, Ala. — At a ceremony Thursday honoring the city’s first female police officer, Capt. Mike Comalander shared some memories of former Fairhope Police Department Sgt. Jean White.

“She took me on my first felony call,” Comalander said to a group of police officers and members of White’s family, including daughter Debbie Quinn, president of the Fairhope City Council.

“But she also chased me and a lot of others,” said Comalander, referring to when he was a student growing up in Fairhope, and White was the city’s juvenile police officer. “She never got me, but she got a bunch of them. She knew all the tricks.”

Many of the police officers and city staff who also grew up in Fairhope and were in attendance at the event laughed at that, and one shared some of his own memories.

“We can all remember hiding from her,” said Cpl. Shane Nolte, who, along with Officer Heidi Loftis, also received a commendation at Thursday’s ceremony for assisting accident victims on Interstate 65 while they were traveling to a training in Montgomery.

“Now, (as police officers), we’re doing the same (kind of work she did),” he said.

Hired by the department in January 1978, White worked there until her retirement in 1996.

When Bill Press, the city’s new chief of police, joined the department this summer, one of the questions he asked was about the city’s first female office, said Sgt. Craig Sawyer.

The chief wanted to recognize her, which prompted Thursday’s ceremony at the police station, Sawyer said.

“Her 18 years of dedicated service will stand as a milestone for this department and the law enforcement profession as well,” Press said at Thursday’s ceremony, before presenting a plaque to White. “So, for those pioneers who attempted to break the gender gap, we salute them today, as well as our own Sgt. Marion Jean White who was not only the first female officer for the city but also rose to the rank of police sergeant as well. As a result, in part (because) of her service to this department, today we have had five female police officers. We currently have four, which is one more than the entire Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.”

The plaque that was presented to White was hung on the wall by the department’s newest female officer, Becky Maclean. According to Sawyer, the other female officers and their duties are: Detective Stephanie Hollinghead, assigned to criminal investigations; Officer Lawanda Hewitt, assigned to the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force; and Loftis, assigned to community services. The fifth officer, Tonya Cook, was a sergeant assigned to criminal investigations, who left for a job with the U.S. Secret Service, he said.

“I must say that being a female officer was not the easiest thing at that time,” White said at the ceremony in her honor. “There were some policeman who weren’t very happy that I was there at first. But from then on, we did very well.”

Press began his remarks citing his own early experience as a police office in Miami in 1973.

“Male attitudes varied from one of not being capable of handing major crises, to my own bias that women should be protected and not put in harm’s way,” he said. “None of these biases have a place in society where women not only represent 50 percent of the population, but where they have proven themselves time and time again that they are capable of all aspects of policing, and in a number of case, do a better job than their male counterparts.”

Before White received her recognition, Press also gave a commendation to Nolte and Loftis for rendering aid at a bad automobile accident when a car lost control due to extremely inclement weather, left the road and rolled, ejecting the passengers.

“Despite the traumatic scene, you immediately stopped to render aid,” said Press, referring to the department’s two officers who were traveling to Montgomery for training. “You removed the infant from a depression that was filling with rain water, provided shelter for both the baby and mother, and protected the other occupant from (rain) until emergency crews arrived. Your professionalism and commitment to service are truly a credit to our department and the entire law enforcement community. These actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of professional policing. I commend you for your compassion, selflessness, and willingness to serve and protect others.”