ST LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. June 17 2019 Officer Victoria Bement actually went to the police academy twice – once in her mother’s womb and then again 20 years later.

“She would put on that uniform and it was a superhero costume to me. I wanted to wear it. I wanted to do it. She’s been my biggest hero my whole life,” said Bement of her mother, Sgt. Jennifer Williams.

As a little girl, she watched her mom in awe, and sometimes, worry.

“She went undercover to catch a rapist one day, a few days, and that was a little nerve-wracking knowing she was just sitting there waiting. She ended up catching him!” said Bement.

Bement never thought twice about the possibility she, too, could be an officer.

“She saw a male officer once in the [grocery store] aisle and she said ‘Mommy, he a boy.’ And I said, ‘Yes sweetie, boys can be policemen too,’ and he looked at us kind of sideways and we giggled and kept going,” said Williams.

But when Bement broke the news to her mom that, indeed, she would follow in her footsteps, Williams had mixed feelings.

“I think I was devastated. But I was also very proud. I was conflicted. This job has an incredible responsibility. You can take a life, save a life, change the path of a life,” said WIlliams.

Now they can make a unique claim: They are the first and only mother-daughter pair on the force.

However, they never work together.

Sgt. Williams runs the Police Athletic League (PAL), which builds relationships between young community members and police officers through sports and activities.

“I have the best job,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ofc. Bement patrols overnight.

“I enjoy working the street, kicking in doors, I want to do all the fun stuff. Maybe someday that may change. And I do want to out-rank her one day,” said Bement.

But each of them makes the other, and the department, stronger.

KMOV.com

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