Indianapolis Police Officers Elizabeth Robinson and Betty Blankenship are generally acknowledged as the first female officers assigned to patrol duties in a radio car. For more about this era of pioneering police women, read our related feature, "The First Female Patrol Officers." Photos: Collection of the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, D.C.
First Female Radio Car Cops
Officer Robinson retired from the Indianapolis PD in 1988.
Officer Robinson began her career with the Indianapolis PD in 1967.
The uniforms worn by Officers Robinson and Blankenship were very different from those worn by male officers in the department.
When Indianapolis Police Officer Elizabeth Robinson rode in a squad car, she was required to wear a skirt and keep her purse close to her side because it carried her gun.
In 1967, Officers Robinson and Betty Blankenship joined the Indianapolis Police Department. They were the nation's first assigned to patrol duties in a car.