Woke police chief vows to hire more women to 'get the toxic masculinity out of policing' while pushing to change fitness and conduct policies: 150 departments – including the NYPD - have pledged to make their departments 30% female by 2030

 A reformist Nebraska police chief has been recruiting female officers - including black and Hispanic women - in a bid to rid policing of 'toxic masculinity' amid a national reckoning on police brutality and calls from progressive leaders to defund law enforcement.

But Bellevue Police Chef Ken Clary's efforts aimed at hiring more women in the state's third most populous city of 53,000 people have not won everyone over, with some of his critics accusing the top cop of lowering physical standards and degrading personal conduct requirements to make the job more appealing to female recruits. 

Clary spoke to The Washington Post about his approaching to a more inclusive policing, saying: 'If you’re not intentional about recruiting everyone and showing everyone that they can be successful here, you’re intentionally excluding people.' 

Clary, a retired Iowa State trooper who is currently working on his PhD is criminology and criminal justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha, was the first police chief to join the 30x30 Initiative: is a coalition of police leaders, researchers, and professional organizations that see it as their goal to increase the number of women in police recruit classes to 30 per cent by 2030.

Nearly 150 law enforcement agencies so far have taken the 30x30 pledge, including police departments in the nation's largest cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Philadelphia, which have seen crime rates skyrocket over the past two years.   

Currently, women make up only 12 percent of sworn officers and 3 percent of top brass in the US. 

Reformist Bellevue, Nebraska, Police Chef Ken Clary has been recruiting female officers to rid policing of 'toxic masculinity' and reduce use-of-force incidents

Officer Crystal Kenny, 32, started with the Bellevue, Nebraska Police Department in December 2020. The department under Chief Clary has nearly quadrupled the number of female officers

Three female Bellevue police officers share a laugh after responding to a call together. From left to right are Jess Manning, Pam Volk, and Crystal Kenny. More than half of recent hires on the force have been women

Over the past year, Clary has gone on a hiring spree, adding more than a dozen female officers to his 103-person department. 

Officer Karen Wrigley, 35, joined Clary's department after being inspired as a teen by the 2000 film Miss Congeniality to pursue a career in law enforcement. She has shown considerable patience towards suspected offenders and has been known to sit down and even cry with victims and suspects alike. 

'There’s a lot of times where I go to a call and I’m talking to somebody for over an hour,' Wrigley told The Post, adding that recruits do not get that kind of training in the police academy, where much of the emphasis is still on the use of force in policing.  

Wrigley's colleague Brandy Valdez is a former ballet dancer and maid who became a cop after getting a divorce; her forte is working with sexual assault victims.

Officer Jess Manning, 33, right, talks to Officer Crystal Kenny, 32, as they look up information on the computer at a call. Chief Clary believes female cops are less likely to use force to resolve conflicts 

The Bellevue PD held a physical fitness test for recruits on February 5, 2022 at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Anastasia Schrader, 31, of Bellevue was the only woman to show up. She tested well and is extremely determined to be part of the department. Officer Manning, left, counts Schrader's push ups and gives her encouragement

The 15 women who are currently on the Bellevue PD's force also include Chatelle Ogea, a former social worker and Army reservist, and Crystal Kenny, 32, who previously worked at a county jail and has a brother in prison.

The idea is to reduce the likelihood of police misconduct, instances of officer-involved violence on the force and the number of lawsuits and complaints being filed by having more female officers, who are nearly 30 percent less likely to use force, according to a recent study. 

Clary has been trying to convince other top cops across the Midwest to broaden the net when recruiting officers by rethinking certain policies, among them requiring applicants to have good credit, which he said could be a hurdle for people of color from low-income families. 

Since taking over the department in September 2020, Clary abolished a rule barring officers from taking extended medical leave twice in two years, which could affect women with back-to-back pregnancies. He also did away with the bench press requirement for joining the SWAT team and got rid of a ban on dyed hair and multiple ear piercings.  

But Clary's brand of reforms has been met with resistance from many law enforcement officials in the region, accusing him of lowering the standards. 

The Bellevue PD is taking part in the 30x30 Initiative, whose goal is to increase the number of women in police recruit classes to 30 per cent by 2030

Officer Crystal Kenny, 32, gives a kiss to one of her dogs during her lunch break. Next to her is her mother, Pam Kenny, who lives with her. Kenny started with Bellevue PD in 2020 after working at the county jail before

Officer Brandy Valdez, 35, a former ballet dancer and maid, works a Saturday night on her 6pm to 6am shift. She is taking notes after doing a field sobriety test on a woman who was pulled over for drunk driving and resisted arrest. Officers, Matt Vetter, left and Andrew Jansen were also on the scene

To those colleague Clary says: 'We’re not lowering a standard. We’re thinking differently about the standard. We’re inviting people that didn’t believe that there was a pathway.' 

Clary's controversial approach to policing comes amid rising crimes rates in places like New York City, which has seen spikes in rapes, assaults, robberies, hate crimes and other types of offenses, with the overall rate jumping 45 percent as of March 27, compared to the same time last year.  

Clary was sworn-in as the police chief in Bellevue on September 1, 2020, after serving for 26 years in various capacities with the Iowa State Patrol

A 2021 study found that female officers made 7 percent fewer arrests than male officers and used force on the job 28 percent less often, especially in relation to black people. 

Additional research has found that female cops are more likely to create a perception of fairness, are better at carrying out traffic stops and investigating sexual and domestic assault. At the same time, they are less likely to fire their guns in the line of duty, use excessive force, and be named in lawsuits and complaints. 

However, there is a competing body of research that reveals only minor differences between male and female officers in use-of-force incidents.  

Clary was sworn-in as the police chief in Bellevue on September 1, 2020, after serving for 26 years in various capacities with the Iowa State Patrol.

Clary earned his Master in Public Administration degree from Upper Iowa University, and is currently a PhD candidate in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha. 

He was selected by the National Institute of Justice as a Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Scholar. He also graduated the FBI National Academy, completed International Association of Chiefs of Police – Leadership in Police Organizations, and Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.

He currently serves as an Executive Fellow for the National Police Foundation, was inducted into the Center for Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame in 2019, and received the IACP J. Stannard Baker Lifetime Achievement Award for Highway Safety.