“Claudia is the individual who will take the time to find out exactly what’s going on, find out the entire story, and take her time to assess it and come up with solutions,” said Staff Sgt. Phil Hanser, Claudia Cid’s boss at 42 Division Toronto Police.
Often described by her coworkers as very outgoing and knowledgeable in her field, Sergeant Claudia Cid, 44, currently a detective working in Scarborough, demonstrates her willingness to show her support to individuals going through hard times with her strong work ethic and communication skills.
“She’s a confident officer. When she deals with things, she’s not the person to step to the back of the line,” commented Richard Schoch, a Unit Complaints Coordinator who worked on the same platoon as Claudia. “She’s somebody that’s counted upon to do many things.”
Originally, Cid said she wasn’t always sure about being a police officer, believing it “wasn’t in the cards for her” but she looked up to police officers as individuals who were there to help and didn’t buy into the idea that they were bad people, despite what her parents thought.
“My parents are immigrants from Chile and the perception of police officers from Chilean parents has a very negative connotation,” she said. “It was one of those things that when I would tell my parents, This is what I want to do. They always sort of said, okay, well, you’re not going to.”
Not all of her family was against her goal of pursuing a career in policing. Her brother, who also aspired to be in the police, was the one who pushed her to “keep the dream alive” as she got older.
With his encouragement, she studied for four years, majoring in linguistics, minoring in Spanish and doing a program for linguistics and speech therapy to appease her parents and gain their approval.
After graduating from York University in May 2002, and receiving her degree in linguistics at 21 years old, she was set on applying to work as a police officer. At the time, she said her brother was still the only one supporting her, and how after bringing it up to her parents, they were “appalled”.
“They worried about me, because I’m a female, and just, I guess the connotations that they had.”
However, Cid highlighted how near the start of her job, 14 per cent of the service consisted of women, stating how she thinks the “number is a lot higher”.
Cid became protective of women over time and enjoyed watching them succeed and prove their capabilities. She wants to encourage women who are interested in pursuing this field not to worry about taking the initiative to work in a male-dominated career, saying gender shouldn’t stop you from wanting to help others and being part of a good community.
Cid worked as a police officer for 23 years before getting promoted in 2001 to sergeant. During her time working at her division, she worked at the Toronto Mounted Unit and Public Order Unit followed up by becoming an authorized less lethal operator.
“I was very impressed with her. She is a very capable officer, very intelligent,” was how Hanser described his first impression of her.
“One thing that struck me with Claudia is that she’s very caring and wants to make sure her officers are taken care of and they’re safe,” said Hanser. He noted how Cid has a knack for approaching struggling officers and helping them get back on track.
Cid expressed her pride in being a leader and mentor, serving as a voice for those in need. This further motivated her to get a promotion in hopes of creating a bigger impact.
“I feel internally I’ve been able to pay it forward within police officers,” she said. “I feel like if we don’t have healthy police officers, they’re not going to service the public right.”
With years of experience, Cid acknowledges how much of a toll it can take on someone being in a field like hers. But sometimes those experiences have impacted someone’s life for the better. She recalls earlier in her career when she came across a man who was struggling with his mental health and was wreaking havoc in his own home.
When she approached him, she knew he was going through a crisis and made sure to treat him like a person, knowing those small actions could change someone’s life. A few months later during one of her patrols on St. Clair, the same man ran up to her to express his gratitude.
“He said, every scout car that goes by, I’ve been looking for you. And he said I want to thank you. I remember everything that happened,” she said, recognizing how it was the first time someone gave her feedback on her work.
“Even though he was in crisis, he remembered everything and he said I remember how you treated me, thank you so much. That to me was like validation that I was making a difference in people’s lives,” said Cid.
Claudia Cid continues to strive to advocate and create change for her team and continues to be the voice needed by those who confide in her. Through her unwavering commitment to empowering those around her and being their advocate, she leads the changes needed for ongoing success and positive impact.