DULUTH, Minn. — When Angela Robertson dreamed of becoming a police officer, she didn't know that dream would also rub off on one of her kids.
"I was married with three kids, and then at the age of 33, I decided to go back to school and follow my career path, my dream job," Angela said. "And then became an officer."
Her daughter Maddy recalls those days.
"Seeing her come home from school, looking at the fun stuff she brought home, asking her all these questions. And then when she transitioned into her career, it was really fun to see the real stuff," Maddy said.
Like mother, like daughter – Maddy was hooked.
Their interest in law enforcement came full circle last week, when Investigator Robertson pinned a badge on Police Officer Robertson.
"I feel very proud and confident she will do a very good job, she is an amazing person," Angela told our Duluth news partner KBJR. "She is very strong, she's resilient and she's very compassionate, and I think the department is really lucky to have her."
"Her coming up and pinning me, I pinned her, I feel like it was almost a full circle for sure," Maddy said, referring to the badge-pinning ceremony. "I don't know how to describe the feeling, it was just very surreal, that will never happen again."
"I really wanted her to pin my badge on me," Angela said, referring to her pinning ceremony in 2009. "I knew it would really mean a lot to her because of her strength her resiliency at that age. And I was super honored to pin my badge on and extremely honored to pin her badge on."
During a time when many people are choosing to leave their careers in law enforcement, Officer Robertson says she'll follow her mom, for reasons other than family.
"Just seeing what's going on with policing in the world right now, I felt like I could go into this career and make things better," Maddy said. "I want to help bridge the gap that has been broken, and rightfully so. There's a public distrust right now with police, that's something for me, pushed me to want to do this even more."
But the first thing on the agenda for Maddy she says, is figuring out what to call Angela.
"What do I call her on the street? Do I show up and say, 'Hey mom? Or officer Robertson? Do I call her Angela?'" Maddy said. Angela said she also did not think about that. She said there is no protocol because they're the first mother-daughter duo in the department.
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