By Arielle Retting
The Roanoke Times
ROANOKE, Va. — Rosa Lillian Adams Smith fearlessly walked the dark alleys and empty streets of downtown Roanoke for almost 20 years as the city’s second female police officer. She died Sunday in Roanoke. She was 92.
Smith was hired in April 1944 and worked in the detective department until her retirement in August 1963. At the time she was hired, there were fewer than 200 women across the country working as police officers, Roanoke police said.
Family members say Smith often told stories of her days as an officer, patrolling downtown Roanoke and Highland Park. Her great-nephew recalled when Smith led an investigation and arrested a man that had attacked several women and killed a teenage girl in southwest Roanoke in 1947.
Smith was partnered with Hazel Garst, the city’s first female police officer, for her entire career. As the only female officers, they were responsible for all female prisoners in addition to their other responsibilities, her great-nephew Danny Adams said.
“She did everything from arresting to frisking to transporting, interrogation, everything,” Adams said of her role with female prisoners. While serving on the force, Smith received the prestigious “Miss Detective of Virginia” award in 1949.
The Roanoke Police Department called Smith a “pioneer in policing” in a statement. “Fearless” is one word her great-nephew used to describe her. She often used herself as bait to attract and arrest sex offenders and other attackers, which is how she caught a notorious flasher in southwest Roanoke, he said.
She dressed up and went out alone several nights a week, keeping a gun hidden, to see if anyone would approach or try to attack her. One night a man came up and flashed her, and she flashed her badge.
“She would have her gun in her coat pocket ready to shoot anybody if they attacked her,” her nephew Bob Adams said. “It was a tough life for a woman in those days.”
Smith liked to metaphorically tidy things up, professionally and personally, Danny Adams said. She would often respond to calls about domestic disputes and abuse. After trying to mediate a conversation between family members, Smith would often follow up later to see how the family was doing.
She would bring them things such as food and clothes, and she would also talk to them. Her ability to calm people down and sympathize with them helped her greatly, Adams said.
“If there was anything she could possibly do — as a volunteer or with the police to help heal a family or save a family — then she would do it,” Adams said. “She was fearless about it, whatever the situation.”
Copyright 2012 Times-World, LLC