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By Gillian Stawiszynski

Contributing Writer

Until last month, the Nicholasville Police Department had a female detective who recently retired, making Lieutenant Alexus Jones the only woman in the patrol division and the entire station.

Born and partially raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jones moved to Nicholasville with her family at 16. Her father wanted to attend seminary school in Asbury, and by the time Alexus was in college, her parents moved to Ocala, Florida, to run a church.

“I was like, ‘You’re not moving back to where we’re from, so I’ll stay here,’” said Jones. She has been living in Nicholasville ever since. “When people ask me, I’ll say I’m from Florida, but yes, I’m pretty much from here.”

Mayor Pete Sutherland recently celebrated Jones in his designation of August as “Women in Local Government Month.”

Jones had always wanted to be a cop, but she went to the University of Kentucky to receive degrees in history and french. She took a gap year after graduating before moving on to graduate school to become a history professor.

But then, she said, she had caught the law enforcement bug.

Jones had family members in the field: multiple cousins, a brother, and his wife. She finally decided that that was what she wanted to do.

Attending the police academy in Richmond, Jones started as a patrol officer. She became a field training advisor, the first step to becoming a supervisor.

Jones continued to move up the ladder- from field training advisor to corporal to sergeant, and last year, she got promoted to lieutenant. She’s now in year 16 at the NPD.

“Nicholasville, ride or die. My whole career will be here,” said Jones.

In her current position, Jones has one supervisor, one sergeant, and seven offices on her team. She runs the day-to-day shift- keeping track of calls, monitoring reports and payroll, answering questions, and acting as general guidance for her team. She also handles annual performance evaluations and write-ups for any incidents in the department.

To Jones, this is the greatest job in the world, but it doesn’t come without difficulties.

“Today, it’s the hardest job because of the stuff we see or the way that we’re perceived. That’s probably one of the hardest things, the way that we’re perceived. But sadly, that’s not who we are. It is the greatest job cause there are those days where you help people, save a life or change a life,” said Jones.

Police officers are relied on more than ever, even for the most mundane calls, according to Jones. For example, there’s been a call to get a six-year-old on the school bus.

“Then that puts a negative spin on us because people are like, ‘Why are you guys here?’ Well, why did you call us because you have a six-year-old? You should be able to handle your six-year-old! So that has caused us to become therapists, marital council, and social workers. You name it, and we do it,” said Jones.

The NPD is currently hiring and has four women in the process. Jones said she hopes to see them join the team. To Jones, it’s essential to have women in the force.

“Sometimes I can talk to a victim if they’re a female and understand or on call when dealing with males that don’t wanna understand a female’s point of view. So I can say, ‘Hey, no, have you ever thought about it from your daughter’s point of view, or your wife’s point of view, or your mom’s point of view?’ So I can give the other side of the coin,” said Jones.