Shameka Jenkins starts her day at 4 a.m. as a Lance Corporal with the SC Highway Patrol, and ends her day at home as a Mom. Then, she does it all over again, balancing her two worlds as a trooper and a mother.
“When I get home, that campaign hat comes off and the mother hat goes on,” she said. “Then I do it all over again.”
A native of Baltimore, Jenkins grew up around law enforcement and followed in her stepfather’s footsteps, joining the U.S. Army in 2013 as a truck driver and serving for eight years.
While in the military, Jenkins studied mortuary science in school and worked in NASA’s law enforcement division, achieving the rank of sergeant. Seeking more excitement and a change of scenery, Jenkins decided to move to the Palmetto State, buy a house, and pursue her dream of becoming a state trooper after visiting a friend.
“I honestly loved the South Carolina Highway Patrol uniform and campaign hat. The way they’re set up and the way they present themselves reminded me of the military,” Jenkins said. “Whenever you see a trooper on a scene, all attention is given to that trooper. They command respect and they get it.”
Jenkins joined the patrol in 2020 and was assigned to Richland County. She explained some of the challenges of being in a male-dominated field, such as being called ‘sir’ instead of ‘ma’am,’ and being told that African American females are a rare sight in the patrol.
“People compare men versus women who do this dangerous job, but I can carry my own,” she said. “You can’t allow anyone to push or overlook you just because of your gender or race. I overcome it by having a voice.”
Jenkins joked that she sometimes has to use her “mom voice” on the job when she encounters someone who doesn’t want to listen.
Growing up in a big family, being a mother is something Jenkins always wanted. She has seven living children ranging from age 3 to 23. She also has her “angel twins,” whom she miscarried in 2020.
Jenkins thanks her mother for instilling the importance of organization, cleanliness, respect, and manners, which she has since passed down to her own children. She does not sugar coat the realities of the job to her children either, and says being a trooper has changed how she parents her kids.
“I see what happens out on the road,” she said. “I’ve learned to be tougher, more assertive, and have a backbone. I have a heightened awareness of things, and I tell my kids to listen to their instincts. While they may not fully get it now, one day they will.”
While being a parent has its challenges, regardless of a parent’s profession, Jenkins said her older children have stepped up to help out with the younger children, and that the Highway Patrol has been accommodating and supportive. She also credits her mother for teaching her how to balance the different parts of life.
“My parents made it look easy,” she said. “But the most rewarding part of motherhood is coming home. Those kids are my safe haven. If I have a bad day, or I worked a fatality involving a child, I go home and hug mine.”
Her best friend, Senior Trooper Shaquanda Sweetmen, is her kids’ emergency contact at school. Jenkins and Sweetmen are the only two female troopers in Richland County, and have established a tight bond through shifts and agency events like “Shop with a Cop.”
“The people that I work with are my safe haven as well,” Jenkins said. “Highway Patrol, they are my second family. If someone calls out of work sick, we’re calling or texting them and asking if they’re OK.”
While it’s all a juggling act, Jenkins loves to spend her time off with her kids and take vacations, her favorite place being Mexico. She believes in the importance of decompressing from the job and having a mental reset. Jenkins says her supervisor and the patrol as a whole have made her work-life balance possible.
Jenkins’ younger children love to be taken to school in her patrol car, and even brag to their friends that their mom is a trooper. One of her daughters has expressed interest in a career in law enforcement or the military. Just as her mother did, Jenkins tells her daughter to do her research before entering the field. Still, she will offer an encouraging word to any woman or mother thinking of a career in law enforcement.
“You can be both a mother and a police officer. I do feel like superwoman sometimes,” she said. “When I walk out the door and I put my uniform on, I put an “S” on my chest. I celebrate being a mother every day, and I think we all can be Superwoman in this job.”
