Dawn Williams (now, Tondini) can’t remember a time when she didn’t want to be a police officer.

As a baby she loved to dress up in her father’s police hat, and his leather slapstick was her favorite teething ring. When she learned to read, she turned first to her dad’s police training books.

Her ambition became reality recently when the 27 year old was sworn in as the first female patrol officer in the Marion Police Department. She has worked as a dispatcher for the department since April 1992, and was a member of the police auxiliary for 1 ½ years before that. Continue reading →