Regina Rush-Kittle
Regina Rush-Kittle is an American law enforcement officer, soldier, and public administrator. She has held trailblazing leadership roles in the Connecticut State Police, the US Army Reserve, and the Connecticut State Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. She was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 2017.
Early life and education
Rush-Kittle was born in Baltimore on January 2, 1961, and moved with her family to Middletown, Connecticut, in 1968. She graduated Middletown High School in 1979 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Connecticut in 1983. As a junior in college, she enlisted in the US Marine Corps Reserve, serving for three years.Law enforcement career
Post-college, Rush-Kittle worked as a corrections officer at the York Correctional Institution for two years and joined the Middletown Police Department as its first African American female patrol officer in 1985. She attended the state police academy in 1987 and joined the state police. She rose through the ranks to become the first African American woman to serve as sergeant, lieutenant, or major in the Connecticut State Police. She was also first woman to command a Connecticut State Police barracks and the first woman to serve as commandant of the Connecticut State Police Training Academy. She commanded the Bureau of Professional Standards and Compliance and in April 2015 was named commandant of the central district headquarters, one of three statewide. She retired in August 2015 after 30 years of state service. She went on to serve as deputy chief of the police department in Millbury, Massachusetts, until February 2017.She earned a master's degree in criminal justice administration from Western New England College in 1997 and graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2011. In 2019, she received an honorary doctorate in criminal justice from the University of New Haven, where she delivered the keynote address at commencement.
She is a past president of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers.
Military career
After serving three years in the Marine Corps Reserve, Rush-Kittle transferred to the US Army Reserves in 1985 and became a drill sergeant. Given her law enforcement career, she sought to enlist in the Military Police Corps but was rejected because at 5'2, she failed the height requirement by two inches.She deployed to Kuwait for one year in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her unit handled logistics, distributing medical supplies and equipment. In 2009, she served a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan as a part of an all-female command team and received the Bronze Star Medal.
From May 2009 to August 2010, Rush-Kittle served as Command Sergeant Major of the 321st Military Intelligence Battalion, currently based in Arizona. She retired from the military in March 2012 after completing 30 years of military service.