GREENSBORO, N.C. — A hard worker, leader and history maker, all true descriptions of Guilford County's first black woman to serve as a district captain for the sheriff's office.
March 8th is International Women’s Day, the perfect time to share Captain Latoya Howells's story.
The funny thing about Howell’s journey is she didn’t desire to become a captain, let alone join law enforcement.
“My father was a trooper and in my mind, I was like never, I'm not going to follow in his footsteps,” Howell said. “I don't want to be the police.”
But she couldn't escape destiny because at 21-years-old the badge of honor was passed on, and Howell began working for the Guilford County Sheriffs' Office.
She started out in the detention center and went on to work in almost every department of from patrol duty to SRO.
As time went on Howell wanted to do more, but her peers told her the harsh truth of being a woman on the force.
“I had a few good training officers that knew it would be a different journey for me being a black female,” she said. “They acknowledged it and they said you're going to have to prove yourself.”
Guilford County has one of the largest sheriff’s offices in North Carolina with 675 employees divided among their operations bureau and detention center.
Only 200 of them are women.
19 years ago, when Howell joined to force that number was even smaller, but she didn’t let that discourage her from her goals.
She admitted being a mother of two wanting to take on a supervisor role was a challenge.
"Missing some of the activities and not being able to be a part of their lives as much as I’d like to be,” Howell said. "Those challenges with trying to keep a family together and still do the best you can at work was a little draining at times."
Despite it all, her determination and hard work got her the position she’s in now as captain of district one, and the respect of the dozens of male counterparts she now leads.
Howell oversees some of Greensboro, Summerfield, Stokesdale, and Oakridge patrol officers and proper crime units.
“I was a little overwhelmed and intimidated,” she said. “It's a big job”
But how is ready to take on the task and a mentor and role model for those in the minority wanting to be leaders.
“Recognize being a woman is a strength because there are things we can do as women that male officers can't," Howell said. "We deal with a lot of females answering calls and females going through crisis want to deal with another female. They need us."
Captain Howell said she still getting acquainted with her new role.