Policing Matters

In this episode of the Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley sits down with Brenda Tate, a trailblazer whose 40-year career with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police unfolded at a time when few women wore the badge and even fewer Black women were in uniform. Tate reflects on breaking barriers in the 1970s while navigating racism, sexism, personal loss and addiction — experiences she chronicles in her memoir, “Journal of a Black Woman in Blue: Navigating Abuse, Addiction, Racism, and Society.” Her story offers a candid look at survival, service and what it takes to rebuild trust, purpose and identity in policing. Handpicked for both witness protection and dignitary protection, Tate earned the confidence of department leadership during some of Pittsburgh’s most challenging years. She helped establish the city’s witness protection unit amid escalating gang violence, applying both tactical skill and lived experience to protect vulnerable witnesses. Later, her work in dignitary protection placed her alongside presi