AASU graduate applies personality to role as police officer

When she moved to Savannah from Buffalo, N.Y., in 2003, pursuing a career in law enforcement was the furthest thing from Officer Tiffany Land's mind.

"I never pictured myself doing this," she said.

Land's goal was to become a teacher, and she earned her master's degree in adult education from AASU in 2008.

Land said she started working at the University Police Department in parking patrol in 2004 to help pay for school, and over the last six years, she realized that she had what it took to become a police officer.

With her sweet demeanor and soft voice, Land said she thinks others may sometimes have trouble seeing her as an officer but her colleagues said she had no problem making the switch from senior dispatcher to authoritative police officer.

"She definitely dove right into the police work," said Lt. John Bennett, her shift supervisor. "Her first few days with me, I think she arrested seven people."

Land described herself as a people-person, and her ability to communicate with people, culled from both her experience as senior dispatcher at the UPD and her coursework at AASU, helps her relate to students when she patrols campus.

"I understand what the students are going through because I've lived on campus, I've ... worked on campus, I went to school here, so I kind of feel like I have got a lot to bring to the table," Land said.

Land mentioned that the UPD staff has become more diverse, which she said is important particularly because of AASU's largely female population.

Land is one of four female police officers at UPD and the only African-American female officer.

Rebecca Rhinehart, of UPD Communication and Parking Services, hired Land in 2004 and trained her as a dispatcher in 2005. Rhinehart said that in Land's role as senior dispatcher, she had a knack for speaking with people who came in with complaints.

"She's a very good listener," Rhinehart said, and added that Land can see the best in everyone, but if someone went too far, Land would "very politely and very quietly" bring the person back into line.

Rhinehart said Land is good at everything she does and pointed out a parking brochure Land recently created for the department as an example of her willingness to learn and do more in her career.

"She's just always been one of those sparklers," Rhinehart said.

Some aspects of that sparkling personality are more visible than others – UPD police carry certain items with them when in uniform, and Land admits with a laugh that both her knife and her handcuff key are pink.

Land thought about the police academy several years ago, but she said the then-police chief, who would need to approve the promotion and schooling, did not feel confident that she would make it, which discouraged her.

But the idea of becoming a police officer stayed with Land, and after continuing to receive encouragement from Officer Erica Coreno and Chief Wayne Willcox, among others, she decided it was time to try again.

She said Willcox was out of town at a conference when she sent him an e-mail to tell him she would like to attend the academy.

"He called me like within 10 minutes after reading that e-mail on the road ,and he said, ‘If you really want to do this ... I have all the confidence in you,'" Land said.

"I look up to him a lot," Land said, noting that Willcox jumped right into the department and began fighting for his police officers to get the equipment and new building they needed.

Coreno said she and Land had become good friends since Coreno was hired in December 2007, and they began running after work to prepare Land for the 1.5-mile run she would have to pass at the academy.

"I knew she could do it, but the physical portion of it – she needed a little help," Coreno said.

So Coreno and Land started going to the gym every day after work, attending any cardio and abs classes the Student Recreation Center offered, as well as running on the treadmill and working out.

Coreno said that after doing that for a while, one day Willcox said it was time for the three of them to do a 1.5-mile run together.

"We ran, she kept up," Corneo said. "She did very well, so we knew right then she wasn't going to have any problems."

Despite the physical preparation, Land described going through the police academy as one of the hardest experiences in her life, but in addition to her UPD colleagues' belief in her, she found a support system separate from UPD – she met Gerald Millien, another cadet at the academy, and he cheered her on during the training.

"He was like one of my biggest supporters while I was out there," Land said.

The friendship blossomed, and Land and Millien are now engaged and planning an April wedding at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler.

The 27-year-old credits her single mother for raising her well. She said they speak on the phone almost every day.

"That's my rock," she said.

Land said she had a hard time explaining her decision to change careers to her mother, who did not want to imagine her only child in harm's way. But just because Land is now a police officer does not mean she will not also be utilizing her knowledge of technology-based learning.

Willcox said in previous interviews with The Inkwell that UPD is working with the criminal justice program to develop classes that officers will teach, and Land said she is looking forward to instructing classes in the future.

Land said that with adjusting to police work and planning a wedding, she has more than enough to keep her busy this year.