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Retired NYPD officer Phyllis Johnson explains to her friend, Danny Perasa, how she transitioned from working as a police department clerk to beat cop, how she got the name "Lock 'Em Up" and what it finally took for her to quit the force she was once so eager to join. Johnson, who served in the police force for almost 24 years, recently celebrated her sixth anniversary of retirement.
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Piece Description
Retired NYPD officer Phyllis Johnson explains to her friend, Danny Perasa, how she transitioned from working as a police department clerk to beat cop, how she got the name "Lock 'Em Up" and what it finally took for her to quit the force she was once so eager to join. Johnson, who served in the police force for almost 24 years, recently celebrated her sixth anniversary of retirement.
Broadcast History
NPR News & Notes 12/18/07
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Each Tuesday we hear from StoryCorps Griot. African Americans across the country are recording their stories as part of the project. Today's story comes from Phyllis Johnson. Friends calls her PJ, and she's a retired New York City police officer. During her interview she told her friend Danny Perasa <<(Per-ah-sa)>> how she joined the force. At the time PJ was working as a clerk for the Police Department.
OUTRO:Phyllis Johnson with her friend Danny Perasa in New York City. StoryCorps Griot is currently collecting stories in Harlem. All the Griot initiative recordings archived at the Library of Congress. A copy of each interview will also go to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington D.C. You can read Phyllis Johnson's story and dozens more in the first ever StoryCorps book, Listening is an Act of Love. Hear more at NPR News and Notes dot org.
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