NEWSELA Somali woman on police force stirs controversy in St. Paul, Minnesota By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.15.14 Wiors Count 926 ene Me Giennale Angeles Tine SST. PAUL, Minn. —Kadra Mohamed is a rogular atthe Grocery and Meat Market on this city’s north side. She grew up ina public housing project nearby {and shopped here with her mother as a gi. In the stor, she breathes in the familiar smell of Somali spices and the bread she has loved since she was a chi. ‘The market's owner, Abdi Mohamed, steps out from behind hs shelves to greet her ‘kad, Is you,” he says inthe ytrmic Somal language, He asks about her mother and then pauses. “I's good to See you in uniform.”Breaking New Ground Kadra Mohamed, 2, is a new cop on the beat, She's a community offices paying a visto a local business owner — a time-tested community policing method, Mohamed is doing tractonal police work, but atthe same time, she's breaking new grounds she isthe first female Somali oficr in the St. Paul Police Department ‘There are more than 80,000 Somali Americans in the twin cities of Minneapolis, and St, Paul, making up the nation’s largest Somali community Relations between the immigrant community and the city can be tense and a police officer lika Mohamed is one step toward reducing tensions, Each time she puts on her cre blue-and-white police uniform with is thick black leather belt and handcufls, Mohamed, who is Soot, also puts on her hijab, the traditional headscarf worn in public by many Muslim women. Reaction to Mohamed has been mixed in this Midwestern city of 290,000 residents, One blogger objected to her wearing a hijab while on duty, saying the department *has placed her life on the line in more ways than one.” Some officers have complained that by wearing a hijab, Mohamed is breaking the traditional uniform cade. Mohamed’ hijab has been modified with metal snans so it can come off in a scufle. Rules Can Be Changed St, Paul Police Assistant Chief Todd Axtell said all ules, even uniform codes, are ‘made tobe changed, In the early 1970s, you had to be at least S-oot-8 to ‘eecome @ St Paul police officer,” said Axtel, who is Soot-7. “If that rule hadn't ‘been changed, I woulcn' be here today.” Mohamed doesn't apologize for going into police work, She once wanted to be ‘a lawyer, but changed her goal to police work because she wanted to help her community. ‘Some criticism of Mohamed has come from the Somall-American cormmunity itselt. Older Somalis say she's breaking cutural norms: wearing pants and short- sleave shirts, and working closely among men in public. After Mohamed passes her police exams, she wll apply fora job as a sworn officer, which means she ‘would carry @ gun, Mohamed's hiring comes at time of urgent need fr the Somali community ‘There has been a rise in Somall street gangs such as the Si, Fistol Boys and ‘Somali Outlaws and other Somali American young people have left Minnesota to fight with extremist groups in Somalia, Syia and faa,‘The tension between Somalis, many of whom are Muslim, and the ety is as high a i's ever been since 2001, some say. She Has "Defied Logic” Enter Mohamed, (She) has defied logic for whites and Somalis alte,” sai local activist Omar Jamal, “She's a mystery lo both cultures." Mohamed was bor in a refuges camp in Kenya in 1981, not long ater her parents fled Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, and is nearly daily bombings and violent chaos. Her Etioplan father, Hassan, and her Somall mother, Zamzam, ‘were joined by an arranged marriage. Love takes time," Mohamed said, "Their relationship started off cordially then a friendship developed before they grew nto loving one another. They got luck." “The family eventually moved tothe Twin Cities, an area with a reputation for welcoming new immigrants. Mohamed’ parents had four more children — two boys and two gis Her father an immigration case worker, died when she was 12, and Mohamed grew up fast. Mohamed was attending St. Cloud State University outside the Twin Cities when she decided to start wearing a hijab, She quickly learned about racism, as strangers fold her to "take the towel off your head," and "go back to your terror state." ‘Showing A Friendly Face As a cornmunity liaison officer, Mohamad is often called on to transite, but most of her duties involve showing a friendly face in public housing projects, where ‘many immigrants lve, She often rides with ner partner, Tom Lee, 24, who works in the Hmong communiy of southeast Asian immigrants. Walking through a community cookout at a housing complex, Mohamed runs into an old fiend, Naca Mohamed, who is also wearing a hijab. Nada is proud of her fend, but said older members of the Samall community dan’ atvays agree. They think she's crazy,” she says. "They don’ think a Muslim woman should be 18 police officer, no matte if she wears & hijab or not Mohamed has decided to become a sworn police officer, even if er mother inaiste she won't lot a gun in the Mouse,“ tell her, ‘Mom, you've been though a cil war, ow can you be afraid of guns?”(One day, Mohamed might be working as a gang unt officer or identiying poitical exremists in her community. She's not afraid of aresting a Somali man, something that would be unthinkable in traitional Somali male-dominated couture Il speak to him in our language — Somali to Somali" she gays. “Il explain that this is my job. He broke the law and there are steps that must be taken.”