St. Paul PD Hires First Female Officer of Somali Descent

On Saturday morning, Kadra Mohamed was recognized as the first Somali-American woman to join the St. Paul Police Department, a move made possible by the department's announcement that it has approved an option for employees to wear a police-issued hijab.

"It's nerve-wracking in a way," Mohamed, 21, said to the St. Paul Pioneer Press . "I want to be a good role model for others, especially Somali women."

Police Chief Thomas Smith said St. Paul joins at least one other department -- in Washington, D.C. -- as the only departments in the U.S. to allow the hijab, a head scarf worn in public by some Muslim women.