Owensboro Police Names First Female Major in Department History

Owensboro Police Make History With First Female Major

Owensboro is making some first-time female history, and when I first read the story, it made me excited to be a woman, so now I have to take a moment to share what one strong woman just accomplished. There’s a history-making promotion at the Owensboro Police Department, and when you look back at Courtney Yerington’s career, this milestone has been years in the making.

Yerington has been promoted from Lieutenant to Major, becoming the first female major in Owensboro Police Department history.

OPD says the promotion reflects her dedication, leadership, experience and commitment to the Owensboro community. The department added that it believes her leadership and expertise will continue to strengthen OPD as she takes on the new role.

Owensboro Police Department via Facebook

Her Connection to OPD Started Before Her Career Did

What makes Yerington’s story even more interesting is that her connection to Owensboro Police goes all the way back to her school days.

According to a 2018 profile of the department by Kentucky Law Enforcement Magazine, Yerington interned with OPD while she was in high school and then again while she was in college. By 2018, she had risen to the rank of Sergeant and was leading the department’s Crime Prevention Unit.

That job put her directly into the community. Yerington worked with programs including D.A.R.E., Citizens’ Police Academies and Camp KOPS, helping young people get to know local law enforcement and even introducing potential future officers to the profession.

She Was Named Kentucky D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year

Her work with kids also earned her statewide recognition.

Yerington was named the 2017-2018 Kentucky D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year. When the award was presented at Owensboro Middle School in 2018, students reportedly greeted “Officer Courtney” with hugs and high-fives.

Years later, she was still involved with the program. In 2022, while serving as a Lieutenant, Yerington was identified as a former D.A.R.E. officer and president of Kentucky D.A.R.E. She said the program was about building relationships with students while teaching them skills to make safe and healthy decisions.

She Helped Bring a Police Academy to Owensboro

More recently, Yerington played a big role in another historic first for OPD.

For years, Owensboro Police recruits had to leave the area to complete their basic law enforcement training. OPD began working toward creating its own training academy, and Yerington was heavily involved in making that happen.

In November 2023, Yerington presented the department's academy proposal to the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council. The proposal was approved, making Owensboro one of the locations in Kentucky able to provide basic law enforcement training.

The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet currently lists Yerington as one of the contacts associated with the Owensboro Police Department Basic Training Academy.

Then Came Another Historic First

The academy welcomed its first class of recruits in 2024, with Yerington serving as an instructor and Training Division Supervisor. Nine recruits ultimately completed the inaugural 23-week program and became the academy's first graduating class.

At the time, Yerington called their graduation an amazing accomplishment after years of work to bring an academy to Owensboro.

Now She's Making History Herself

After years of working with students, connecting officers with the community, training new recruits and helping build OPD's own police academy, Yerington is now responsible for another first.

This time, she's the one making history.

Her promotion from Lieutenant to Major makes Courtney Yerington the first woman to hold the rank in Owensboro Police Department history.

For a career that started with internships at the very department she would eventually help lead, that's a pretty incredible full-circle moment.

Congratulations to Major Courtney Yerington on the promotion and on making Owensboro history.

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