First Woman Sergeant For Palm Springs Police Department

Officer Melissa Desmarais had some good news to share with her mother.

“She’s very proud of me. And, obviously she’s always worried about me, as all Moms are, but she’s very proud,” said Desmarais.

Desmarais is one of three new sergeants at the Palm Springs Police Department. But Desmarais holds a unique honor. She’s the first woman sergeant in the departments 70 year history.

“Really excited about it and gonna follow the footsteps of those who’ve paved the path for me,” said Desmarais.

Recently she’s the one blazing a trail. She’s served as the department’s public information officer for the past several months. And, starting on July 11th, she’ll be responsible for a group of patrol officers.

“I just think of myself as somebody that does the best job that she possibly can and in every assignment,” said Desmarais.

The soon to be sergeant was also the first female motorcycle officer in the entire Coachella Valley, inspiring others to go down the same road.

Like Jenn Kennedy before her, she’s ridden motorcycles off-duty for years. Now she’s the department’s newest woman motorcycle officer. She called Desmarais for training tips.

“There’s not very many of us and there’s different physical challenges for us that we would most likely encounter. It’s plenty tough for a male officer but especially a female,” said Kennedy.

And, Kennedy also hopes to follow in Desmarais’ footsteps and make sergeant one day.

“She’s definitely a good example and very deserving hard-worker and I’m proud to be working along side her,” said Kennedy.