ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOX) - The St. Louis County Police Department is morning the death of its first female officer in the department's history. They announced Officer Winona “Jean” Schrieber died on Wednesday at the age of 94.
She was hired by the County on Aug. 20, 1957, and focused on working with juveniles who were getting into trouble with the law. She was also among the first female officers to work for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. That was her first job as a cop, when she joined the force in 1951.
Her main role in the city was helping to catch pickpockets in Soulard by pretending to be a customer. She was also the department's first pregnant officer, when she was expecting her first of three children.
When her husband was also hired as an officer with the city in 1955 she was forced to leave because the department would allow married couples to work together. Two years later, she was hired by St. Louis County.
She was previous asked if she thought she was a trailblazer for female officers who came after her.
"No, I gave it no thought," Schrieber says. "The powers at be that ran the department thought, 'Now what do we do? How can we make use of her?'"
She said she was proud of seeing what women in policing are doing now.
"I'm glad that they're doing so well. That makes you feel good, to see the progress they've made," she says. "Because they are so much more educated than when I first started."
A cause of death was not released by police.
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