Just like any other work night Vicksburg Police Department officer Kathryn Trueheart clocks-in, gears up, buckles-up and sets out on the streets of Vicksburg in her patrol car with the goal of keeping Vicksburg safe.   ///   It was 2 a.m. and Trueheart was just beginning her shift.

Trueheart, 26, was born and raised in Vicksburg. She attended and graduated from Vicksburg High School in 2006. After high school Trueheart attended Hinds Community College where she majored in general studies. After attending Hinds College she decided to become a police officer. She went to the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy in Pearl.
Trueheart has three sisters. “One of my sisters lives in California. When I was 20, I decided to put on my big girl panties and move to California, too.” California life wasn’t for her, and it didn’t take her long to realize that and she moved back. Her other two sisters live in Vicksburg, along with her parents.
“I’ve been an officer for two years,” Trueheart said. In that time she’s risen risen to second in command under her sergeant. It is easy to see that Trueheart prides herself in being good at her job and her coworkers respect her.
Trueheart says she likes working nights. “Many nights patrolling are quiet. I just drive and think.” She says working nights means she can spend her days with her family, her daughter and her boyfriend.
Though her parents are proud of her now, she says her mother was not always happy with the idea of her being a policewoman.
“My mom used to ask me all the time if I was being careful. She would tell me to be careful when I approach cars, houses and people.”
Her parents have warmed to the idea of their daughter working in law enforcement and Trueheart believes they are proud of her accomplishments.
She takes her job seriously and even her own daughter knows that being in the back of a police car is a “no-no.”
“My little girl used to ask me if she could play in my car. I would tell her ‘no’ and she would say ‘but mom I just want to play in the back seat.’” Trueheart tells her daughter, Zion, that the backseat of a police car is for bad people, a place she should never be.
“My daughter says that she wants to be a cop too, but I think she’ll go into medicine instead because she is always trying to make people feel better.”
She says Zion will tell people upon introduction that her mom is a cop and arrests bad guys. “I want my daughter to be proud of me,” Trueheart added.
Trueheart says she would love to climb the corporate ladder at work and work her way up as far as she can.
“I didn’t always know I wanted to be an officer but I did know that I wanted to serve people,” Trueheart said.