NORWICH – Not too long ago, Deputy Kelly Hayner was called to the scene of a domestic disturbance. A man in his mid-20s suffering from a mental breakdown was refusing to take his medication and threatened violence against the home’s other occupants.
Stepping into the house with another officer Hayner and her partner were confronted by the disturbed man as he seized a nearby kitchen knife and lunged. The officers reacted quickly, grabbing a hold of the knife-wielding hand and forcing the man to the ground. He was then disarmed, handcuffed and taken to an area mental health facility.
Hayner graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1997 and earned a degree in graphic design from Cazenovia College in 2001 before being hired into the Chenango County Sheriff’s corrections division. In 2007, Hayner was assigned to her current post as deputy and is one of three female law enforcement officers working for the Sheriff’s patrol division.
“I actually went to school for graphic design, but had a tough time finding a good job after college,” explained Hayner.
Hayner, a 31-year-old Norwich native, worked on a small Mt. Upton farm growing up, discovering a love of animals and an appreciation for hard work.
“I was farming for a long time and it’s a lot of hard work,” she said. “I just love animals. It’s nice be your own boss and the physical work is nice. I liked it a lot and I originally wanted to do something like beef farming.”
After graduating college, Hayner said she began looking for local graphic design jobs to begin her career and found none. She then began looking at farther away areas and eventually moved to Houston, Texas for an employment opportunity.
“Houston wasn’t my cup of tea,” said Hayner. “My mom called she said ‘there was a job in the paper, maybe you should apply. It pays well and has benefits.’”
That job, as it later turned out, would be for a correction officer position at the old Chenango County Jail.
“I always had a thing for police work. I like cop shows and stuff like that, so I decided to give it a whirl. What I really wanted to do was be a deputy and they told me the job was a good stepping stone.”
Since beginning her law enforcement career, Hayner said her experiences have been nearly identical to her male counterparts.
“I’ve never had a problem like that with anyone,” she said. “Even the inmates actually seem to give me more respect. The male inmates look at you as a female and certain social graces would be given a lot of the time. Female inmates also tend to relate more to you than they might a male corrections officer,” she said.
Hayner said the only time her sex ever played a role in the job was when she was called upon to supervise or search female inmates.
“Technically a male officer can do those things, but it’s good to keep the inmate comfortable and avoid any appearance of something inappropriate. An inmate can’t accuse some issues when the same sex is handling them,” she said. “It helps protect us and them.”
In 2007, Hayner was hired as a sheriff’s deputy and attended the police academy at the Broome County Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s an experience I’ll definitely never forget,” she said.
Out of a training class of about 40 to 50 recruits, Hayner was one of three female cadets.
“There is this sense of competitiveness in wanting to perform as good as the rest of the guys, but I think that’s something everyone in the academy went through,” she said. “They basically broke us down and built us back up.”
Hayner said she is not intimidated by physical confrantations with the opposite sex, on the job or in training.
“The defensive training was a challenge, learning all the different techniques. I paid close attention to things like pressure points and things like that.”
Hayner also currently serves on the Sheriff Office’s HEAT team, a tactical entry team that is occasionally called upon to break down doors and carry assault weapons.
“Whenever we’re going into a house and there’s a female there, I’m always with the female suspect.”
“Again it helps avoid complicating efforts in court if a defendant were to complain of some kind of sexual harassment. We avoid creating an environment to make such a complaint.”
Hayner said although the office tries to arrange for same sex officers to search their respective suspects, it’s not always practical.
“Officer and public safety are the most important issues in searching someone. I search males too; I don’t have a problem with it. Other officers can search a female. We’re all trained to be professionals. ”
Hayner also explained that being a woman behind the badge often makes it easier for female victims to open up to her.
She recalled a 13-year-old girl who shied away from male officers at the General Canoe Regatta, but came over to pull her away from the group and make a complaint.
“You have things like that. There are also times in a domestic abuse incidents where having a female officer on the scene can aid in getting a female victim to feel more comfortable in talking.”
Hayner said she enjoys being a police officer very much but says it does taken a certain type of personality to cope with the job.
“I like being a cop. It’s different every day. During the day there are burglaries, animal abuse cases, a lot of petty crime stuff. A night you tend to see more violence, domestic disputes and people being drunk or messed up on something. It’s always interesting.”
“As far as women go, the ice has been broken in law enforcement I think. You just have to be the right kind of person to do the job, man or woman, you need to be OK with getting dirty and rolling around in the mud. Honestly I’ve never really thought much about the gender difference – I’m just like anybody else who’s behind the badge.”