When Beatrice Dyess moved to Las Vegas as a grade-schooler in 1951, she recalls being disappointed when seeing local police officers “horsing around.” It was then she decided to go into law enforcement to make a change.
Beatrice Dyess, at left, is pictured during her Metro days.
Just over two decades later, she became the first Black female officer on the Metro Police force.
“I just said, ‘One day, I’m going to become a police officer to see if I can make a positive difference,’” said Dyess, now 76. “Because that was much needed then — and I think even more so now.”
Dyess began working a desk job with the then-Clark County Sheriff’s Office in May 1969. When the sheriff’s office and the Las Vegas Police Department were merged into Metro in 1973, the department was required to hire female patrol officers.
Of the five women who started at the police academy the following year, Dyess said she was the only one to complete the program.
She enjoyed her time at the academy, Dyess said, and learned a lot. Once she graduated and began patrolling, however, she encountered more people with prejudiced attitudes.
“I always thought it would really be neat to become a police officer because I thought it would be like one big happy family,” she said. “But I had a rude awakening. It wasn’t that at all.”
Before she even started, Dyess said, she had “three strikes” against her: She was a woman; she was Black; and she was Christian.
Many of her fellow officers would attempt to pull tricks on her, or trap her into making a crucial mistake, Dyess said.
One supervisor told her she was not a “team player,” because she refused to testify to arrest reports written by her colleagues that she knew to be untrue, Dyess said. Another time, a supervisor said her afro violated regulations, and she needed to change her hairstyle.
The fear of retribution led to her making mistakes, Dyess said, citing an instance in which she regrets unnecessarily arresting a young Black man because she knew, if she didn’t, her co-workers would hold it against her.
She said she regretted not pursuingmore career advancement— taking on a leadership role in which she could have effected greater change — and also not taking civil action against the department for the discrimination she faced.
“I had a Black supervisor tell me, he said, ‘Bea, you’re right. What you’re saying is true. But don’t rock the boat,’ ” Dyess said. “And I told him, I said, ‘The boat needs to be overturned.’”
After more than 20 years on the force, Dyess retired in 1997. For all the challenges she faced, she said, she also made many fond memories.
And given the choice, she added, she would do it all again.
“Even though there were a lot of bad days, the good days outweighed the bad days,” said Dyess, who emphasized her lasting respect for the department and the officers within it. “I met a lot of nice people.”
Watching Metro progress and change the ways in which it interacts with the community has been “beautiful,” Dyess added. But problems persist, she said, and transformation is still needed.
“You have to have a heart for people. You have to love people,” she said. “And so, you can dress me up in that uniform and put that badge on me. And I can be all polished and everything. But if my heart is not right — if … I don’t have the heart to do what’s right, eventually what’s in me is going to come out, and the public will suffer for it.”
Metro Police, which is short about 300 officers, is looking for residents to follow Dyess’ path.
The number of applicants to Metro has dropped 70%, which Sheriff Kevin McMahill attributed in part to national outrage at police officers after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the recent death of Tyre Nichols, a Black man in Memphis, Tenn., beaten by police officers using excessive force.
McMahill has placed an emphasis on attracting a diverse workforce to mirror the community it serves.
Of the department’s 5,570 employees (including nonofficers), about 560 are Black, according to the department’s annual report. By comparison, 56% of the total workforce is white.
Dyess was recognized Feb. 1 during Black History Month for her pioneering career by the Las Vegas City Council, which she called a “phenomenal” experience.
Everyone can learn a lesson from Dyess about positivity, honor and integrity, Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske told the Sun and noted that Dyess was extremely optimistic and forward-thinking.
“I just love her commitment to the city of Las Vegas,” she said. “She is not only a trailblazer, but truly a beautiful soul.”
Now, Dyess — who has four children, 13 grandchildren and a dozen great-grandchildren — is an ordained chaplain.
Dyess said she asked herself what she could do in her retirement that was “vital and important,” and could make the world a better place. Her answer came in the form of chaplaincy.
“We need to, with everything within us, try to pass (on) love, peace and joy and happiness,” she said. “Give people hope.”
As a mother, chaplain and community member of Las Vegas for more than 70 years, Dyess has accomplished so much more than just being the first Black female officer within Metro, she said.
And she’s not done.
“I truly believe that to be a female officer — it was my destiny,” Dyess said. “But it doesn’t define me. I am more than the first African American female officer.”