Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 18, 1995 TAG: 9505180030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WOODBRIDGE LENGTH: Medium
Connie Pennington, 33, faced opposition from her family and friends when she decided to become a police officer four years after her husband, Philip Michael Pennington, was killed in a Thanksgiving Day standoff in Dale City.
``I hope I can be as good a cop as Mike was,'' Pennington said. ``The pain never goes away. You never recover. But it's my life, and this is something I want to do.''
Pennington's friends, her family, her co-workers - even Police Chief Charlie Deane - all tried to talk her out of it, she said.
``There are going to be people who say I got this job because of Mike,'' she said. ``When I first got to the academy, I asked them to please treat me like everyone else. None of the instructors or my other classmates have treated me different. I want it that way on the street, too.''
Her son, Michael, turned 11 in December. He was almost 7 when his dad died.
``My friends and co-workers have said, `How can you put Michael in this situation again? Don't you care about him?''' Pennington said. ``I am thinking about my son. But this is my life. Michael even wants to be a police officer. He knows the dangers.'' As Pennington goes about her daily police work, she will be confronted by reminders of her slain husband everywhere.
``It doesn't bother me,'' she said. ``That's one of the most important things for survivors. Don't walk softly around them. Don't avoid saying the person's name or talking about what happened. If you don't talk about it, it makes the widow think you've forgotten about him.''
For most of her adult life, Pennington has been involved in law enforcement. For six years, she worked as a Fairfax County police dispatcher. After her husband died, she went to work dispatching police and fire calls in Manassas.
She thinks her husband would be proud of her.
``He was a good cop, more so a good person, which made him a good cop," Pennington said. "I think I'm a good person and I'll be a good cop.''
by CNB