MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Funeral arrangements have been announced for Capt. Claudine Penn, the first Black woman officer at the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
Penn began her MPD career in 1963.
Ten years later, she became the department’s first African-American female sergeant. And in 1995, she was the first to be promoted to captain; she retired that same year — “leaving behind a legacy defined by strength, perseverance, and service to the people of Memphis,” MPD said in a statement…