Funeral services will be held today, Saturday, Dec. 13 for Ret. Police Capt. Claudine Penn, the first Black woman officer hired by the Memphis Police Department. Penn died Dec. 4, the department and her family announced. She was 90.

Penn joined the force as a metermaid in 1963 and served 30 years, also becoming  MPD’s first Black female sergeant in 1973 and, in 1995, the first Black female to be promoted to the rank of captain.

“Her leadership, courage, and commitment opened doors for countless women who followed in her footsteps,” MPD stated on social media.

“Penn retired on July 8, 1995, leaving behind a legacy defined by strength, perseverance, and service to the people of Memphis,” the statement continued.

Penn’s daughter LaDedria Penn, said law enforcement wasn’t her mother’s first choice of a career. “She wanted to be a fashion model (but) she was only 5 foot 5,” LaDedria Penn said. However, once her mother made the choice, she was totally committed to serving her community. “She wanted to serve, and she always wanted to help people.”

Her daughter recalled that Claudine Penn was met with many challenges that often come with being a pioneer, her daughter stated. One stood out, she said.

 Penn’s first assignment was issuing citations on Beale Street, the only street she was allowed to patrol. Once she ventured onto Main Street and a white man asked why she was there. 

“She demanded that he was going to respect her uniform and told him that she was doing her job,” LaDedria Penn said. She continued to do both equally and well throughout her career, she added.

 In 1968, Penn became a commissioned police officer and joined the narcotics unit in 1973. 

Rick Jewell, chief of the Mason Police Department in Mason, Tennessee, worked with Penn when he worked for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. Jewell recalled that Penn was quiet but had a solid work ethic. 

“She never tried to get into anyone else’s business,” Jewell said. “She came in there everyday, took her cases and worked on them. While the rest of us were in the field — executing search warrants and chasing drug dealers — Penn and another officer were in the Metro Narcotics Squad. They would go out and visit drug stores and doctors offices to see who was writing bogus prescriptions.”

Jewell summed up Penn as a class act. “She was well-dressed, very smart and very well spoken,”  he said. “She came in every day and did her job and was very professional.”

While Penn’s job required a level of toughness, she believed that being a “respectful lady” was equally as important, thus sending her daughter to charm school.

“I had to learn how to sit, and I had to learn how to walk,” she said. “I had to learn how to get in and out of a car. I watched her give herself facials.” 

Looking back she wonders how her mother managed her contrasting roles. “I am now 57 years old, and I look at that and I’m like, wow.  How did she balance and keep her femininity and yet spend most of the hours of her day in an environment that didn’t want her there? Even though she was on the team.”

Carol Carlson, a member of a group for mothers of Memphis police officers, recalled meeting Penn in 2014 during a city council meeting where the topic was taking away benefits from city workers, including police, because of budget concerns. Penn, she said, was there to show support for city workers. It was only later that she learned of Penn’s history with the police department.

Carlson said she was amazed when finally was able piece together Penn’s story.

“She does have a strong legacy with the Police department,” Carlson said. “I had sat in the right spot to meet this amazing woman, I was just in awe.”

Penn’s concern at that meeting and others was for current officers and other city employees.

“It did impact her because she would have been losing retirement benefits,” she said. “But she was only there to support the current officers.

“To me that spoke so highly of her character and her concern and her identity still as part of the Memphis Police Department. She is just an amazing woman.”

Penn’s husband Davis Penn Jr., preceded her in death. In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her son Davis Penn III.

Funeral service will be Saturday Dec. 13, at Bloomfield Baptist Church, 109 South Parkway West. The viewing starts at 9 a.m. followed by the service at 11 a.m.