Criminal justice graduate makes history as first female sergeant with Grove City Division of Police
During the fall semester of her senior year at Ashland University, Brittany Hennessy received a conditional offer to work for the Grove City Division of Police.
Hennessy said she is forever grateful to AU, especially professors Russell Craig and Jeffery Spelman, for allowing her to finish her criminal justice degree in 2011 and start her career before graduating.
“They allowed me to do my last semester by conference and complete all of the necessary projects and papers to allow me to finish my degree,” said Hennessy, who added that Craig and Spelman often worked with her on their off-times and weekends.
Their faith in Hennessy’s potential has paid off as she has moved her way up the ranks in the Grove City Division of Police to sergeant – the first female sergeant in the department’s history.
“It has been great so far,” Hennessy said about her new position that became official in March.
“I had to go through approximately four weeks of training on sergeant duties and leadership information,” added Hennessy, whose other positions with the department have included defensive tactics instructor, crisis negotiator, traffic crash reconstructionist, physical fitness instructor, field training officer and bike patrol member.
Lt. Eric Scott, who has been with the Grove City Division of Police for more than 20 years and was named its chief this month, said that Hennessy often signs up for additional training during her off-duty time in her pursuit of excellence.
“That same determination will serve her well as a sergeant,” Scott said. “She takes pride in herself, and that drive to perform makes her coachable. She refuses to allow her ego to interfere with her work performance. She responds well to training and feedback and is hungry to learn.”
One of her new responsibilities is being the sole second shift supervisor. Not only does Hennessy enjoy working the second shift because of its family mentality – the officers she supervises have been her peers for years and they all get along and have multiple get-togethers – it also works well for her family.
Her husband also is in law enforcement as a patrol officer for the Columbus Police Department and works a different shift, which helps them take care of their two children who are both younger than 3 years old.
Hennessy’s family ties to law enforcement include her father, who spent 35 years with the Ontario Police Department, and, like her, moved up the ranks, starting as a dispatcher and eventually becoming the chief for 11 years before retiring in 2017. While her father was the chief, he created Ontario’s first mobile command post for crisis negotiators and even became the negotiations commander for the Allied Special Operations Response Team.
“I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and be just like him,” Hennessy said. “I have since become a member of our crisis negotiation team at my agency, which will transfer over to be my team in the near future since being promoted.”
Like her father, who still is working in a civilian position for a police department in Florida, Hennessy said she enjoys law enforcement because she can help people.
“Most people we come into contact with are having their worst day when they call us for help, and we are given an opportunity to help them,” she said. “Prior to being promoted, I was a field training officer, which was my favorite secondary assignment that I held. I enjoyed being able to pass along knowledge to younger officers and lead them in the right direction.
“I look forward to mentoring a whole shift and being able to have a positive influence,” added Hennessy, who already has been a mentor to the five female officers in the Grove City Police Department, which includes 52 police officers, eight sergeants and two lieutenants.
Her time at AU prepared her to be “a positive influence” to the people she works with and helps, said Hennessy, who also was a member of the university’s swim team.
“I would recommend college to anyone,” she said. “Having a formal education teaches you many things, including computer skills, talking to people, meeting deadlines and the list goes on and on.
“While the police academy teaches you mainly how to do the job, having a degree in criminal justice opens your eyes to what the job is about,” she added. “It also teaches you different aspects of criminal justice and knowledge about different agencies.”