When Kihana Zahiree was eight years old and growing up in Afghanistan, a female police officer was killed in the line of duty while trying to intervene during a kidnapping.
Today, it is still uncommon for women to be police officers in her home country.
But that single tragedy fueled Kihanna’s passion for doing what some there say women cannot do — become a cop.
“In Afghanistan, people don’t let girls be police. I want to become a police officer,” she said.
The Grade 7 student at Chris Hadfield Public School in Bradford West Gwillimbury was one of two local girls chosen to be Junior Chiefs for the Day with the South Simcoe Police Service on Thursday.
Kayley Spiers, a student at Goodfellow Public School in Innisfil, was the other one selected.
They were each chosen out of dozens of students who entered an essay-writing contest for Grade 7s in BWG and Innisfil.
The girls’ day as junior police chiefs began with a swearing in, they met with South Simcoe Police Chief Andrew Fletcher and Deputy Chief Robin McElary-Downer, and they got to experience police demonstrations about use of force, forensics, and the K9 unit, as well as a ride on the police service’s newest boat.
Our Junior Chiefs are getting an inside look at how we work and that includes Use of Force options. Cst. Wes Brown demonstrates a Conducted Energy Weapon for Kayley and Kihana. #JRChiefs pic.twitter.com/p15AW9OE62
— South Simcoe Police (@SouthSimcoePS) June 13, 2019
Const. Shawn Gwilliam, who runs the K9 unit with Nitro the German shepherd, did a demonstration to show how Nitro sniffs out drugs hidden in a room.
He also explained how he takes care of Nitro — particularly interesting for Kayley, who said she wants to be a doctor or a veterinarian when she grows up.
“We like to keep the training positive. We like the dog to win,” said Gwilliam. “He gets lots of pets; he gets lots of rewards. He’s pretty happy.”
All his food and nutrition is supplied by Pet Valu in BWG, and his veterinary care is done at Dissette Animal Hospital, also in Bradford.
The junior chiefs day is a full day of activities, with tours of both headquarters in Innisfil and BWG.
The essay-writing contest used to be geared to Grade 5 students, but the police service has found entries from Grade 7 students are on a higher level, and they have more understanding of what policing involves, said Special Const. Elisabeth Aschwanden, who helped guide the junior chiefs for the day.
The junior-chiefs program allows police to engage with youth and help teach them about policing, she said.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said.
