Newark promotes Fleming as first female police sergeant
Newark Division of Police recently swore in its first female police sergeant, and her peers said there couldn’t have been a better first.
April Fleming served as a dispatcher first for Heath police, then Newark before she became a police officer. When Newark switched to the Licking County Regional Communications Center for dispatching, Fleming decided to get on the other side of the radio.
“I like the thrill of the job – even dispatching. It was always something new. I guess that’s basically what keeps me coming back too,” Fleming said in a recent interview with The Advocate. “No two days are the same. You’re always doing something different. I’m not one who likes to be stuck behind a desk. So this kind of fell right into it.”
Newark Deputy Chief John Brnjic, who is Fleming’s supervisor, said he’s known her since she was a dispatcher.
He described her as very confident, talented, with a good head on her shoulders.
Brnjic said one time he was listening to some 911 calls because the agency received a complaint about something. In one of them, he said there was someone on a roof Fleming had dealt with numerous times and he was going to jump. According to Brnjic, Fleming told the caller to “get off the roof right now” and he immediately did.
“He came right down. She has that personality,” Brnjic said. “She has a ton of respect from the other officers because she holds her own. She’s a cop’s cop.”
As a sergeant, Fleming said the job comes with more responsibility. She’s now in charge of a team and represents the department in everything she does, where as an officer, she only worried about herself.
While she loves learning everything about the position, she said a challenge is making sure she’s making the right decisions for her team.
On top of that, Fleming said as the first female sergeant, she has to set a standard for others to come after her in addition to filling the shoes of the people before her.
Newark Police Officer Dave Arndt said he’s also known Fleming since she was a dispatcher. He described her as confident and a hard worker.
“There’s really no better person to be the first female sergeant at Newark. A lot of people look up to her,” he said. “She’s really set the standard.”
Arndt said Fleming has given him a new perspective because of her journey to becoming a police officer. Prior to dispatching, Arndt said she went to Ohio State and became a social worker, working with kids in foster care.
“Her career started in foster care, so she’s kind of done it from different angles. She’s got these experiences and she’s shared them,” Arndt said. “If you’ve never experienced it or dealt with it, you don’t understand it. So that’s what she brings to the table.”
Fleming said she sees things from different angles with a background in social work, dispatching and now law enforcement. She added she feels like she has well-rounded knowledge because of those experiences.
Reflecting on becoming the first female sergeant at her department, Fleming said it’s an honor.