Is it possible for an adult to adopt a grandmother? If so, then I would like to adopt this week’s WOTW, Sidonia Joseph.
This woman is an all-rounder when it comes to being amazing — from her brave history to her charm and wit.
The 83-year-old was the second woman to become police officer in St. Lucia and first woman to handle a fire hose to put out a fire in the city.
She spent five years in the Royal St. Lucia Police Force before moving on to teach Special Education in New York as well as becoming a Practical Nurse while being a domestic servant. She came back to St. Lucia sometime afterwards and has since been a member of the Ex-Police Association.
Joseph is currently getting set to take part in the “Miss Club 60 Pageant”, which will take place on September 24 at the National Cultural Centre from 2:00 p.m.
About her historic achievement in the RSLPF, Joseph said: “I was very proud to be the second woman police in St. Lucia. Mrs. Veronica Adley was the first. I was quite proud and I never had a fear in me. I didn’t care how tall, how large or how bulky you looked; when I had to make an arrest, I made it.”
She continued: “I arrested people with loaded guns. They fired up to let me know that the gun was loaded, then fired down into some sand, but I still made the arrest. Once, when we got to one man, there were still three bullets left in the barrel.”
She was only in her twenties when she went from a saleswoman to a policewoman easily, but through sheer bravery and boldness, Joseph marched straight into the office of the Chief of Police, without permission or clearance, submitted her application and got the job.
When The VOICE asked Joseph to recount one of her best memories while serving on the Force, it was as if an overfilled bank vault had opened. The memories came pouring out as she stated that there is no single best memory, but hundreds of great ones.
Some of her stories included a trip to the countryside. Although she worked in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) collecting fingerprints, she was once asked to accompany her male colleagues to the house of a female suspect, as they needed a female police officer to search her.
On their way to the suspect’s house, there was a swollen river that they had to cross and the only way to get to the other side was to cross over a fallen coconut tree. Although she was beckoned to cross several times, she flat-out refused and so one male officer decided to demonstrate how easy it would be to cross over. He ended up falling into the river and had to be rescued.
Another memory was about her most difficult arrest, in which she took down a woman who was resisting arrest. Joseph proudly stated that she made the arrest without blowing her whistle once.
Back in her day, most police officers didn’t carry guns, radios and other gadgets. Instead, they were armed with only batons and whistles in the event that they needed to call for backup.
Perhaps her most perilous memory was when she got a call about two individuals who were fighting with cutlasses. When she arrived at the scene, the main aggressor saw her and fled, jumping over a store counter to evade capture.
She continued: “I leapt over the counter and he went into the store cubicle. So I went after him in the cubicle. When he ran out, I ran out after him and arrested him. Then a friend of his came with a cutlass and when he launched at me because I wouldn’t let go, I raised my arm to protect myself, and I was left with this.” (She showed a scar on her left arm.)
Joseph spoke about memories of her searching women and finding stolen rings hidden in their vaginas, as well as tending to a prisoner who had a wound that would not heal, only to open up that same wound to find a stash of US dollars hidden. She conducted these searches without gloves!
Although she said she never saw her job as a cop being dangerous, Joseph noted it was one career choice that her family did not support. She said her mother did not want her to take the job because she thought it was too dangerous but that did not stop her.
sends a message out to young women who dream of joining the Force but are holding back for whatever reason. She said: “Make up your mind about what you want to do. Do you really want to be a police officer? I would tell them about the dangers and what they should beware of. I would advise them to go get their education first and then decide whether they really want to be a police officer.”
Brace yourselves, readers, because this WOTW’s secret was hands-down the most surprising and funniest one that I’ve heard to date.
Joseph boldly said: “I got married at 51 (she was a virgin) and the man was 75 and I never knew that the man wanted sex. The man said he wanted a companion, so I went as his companion. Now I’d never slept with anybody, I never remembered I was married and in the middle of the night, I felt a hand on me. When I looked, I saw the man. I saw those eyes, I brought up my knees and I threw him down. I think up to now he’s saying ‘I’m sorry, Sidonia’ and I’m saying ‘I’m sorry, Arthur.’”
Being cheeky, I asked if that was the furthest they went as a married couple sexually. Again, I was floored by the response. Yup, she got me again!
She said: “No, no, no, I had sex with the man! Every time the man was ready, I was sitting on the toilet because I wanted to pee. I was so scared.”
Do you think she is awesome? Then go show your support for her at her big show. Tickets are only $25.
