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| First female deputy sheriff in Prince George’s County described as ‘trailblazer’ | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The department store security guard, a petite woman, had just nabbed a male shoplifter who was much larger than her. | The department store security guard, a petite woman, had just nabbed a male shoplifter who was much larger than her. |
| As an impressed officer took the miscreant into custody, he told the guard that he was running for sheriff of Prince George’s County, and if he won, he would make her the department’s first female deputy with arrest powers. | As an impressed officer took the miscreant into custody, he told the guard that he was running for sheriff of Prince George’s County, and if he won, he would make her the department’s first female deputy with arrest powers. |
| William J. Jamieson was elected sheriff in 1962, and Antoinette “Annette” Meyer joined the force the following year. She would not get a uniform — a skirt, pumps and a matching purse for her revolver — for another three years, and for a time she ferried prisoners around in her personal gold Chevrolet Impala, sometimes with her young daughter in the back. | William J. Jamieson was elected sheriff in 1962, and Antoinette “Annette” Meyer joined the force the following year. She would not get a uniform — a skirt, pumps and a matching purse for her revolver — for another three years, and for a time she ferried prisoners around in her personal gold Chevrolet Impala, sometimes with her young daughter in the back. |
| Meyer spent the next 37 years as a deputy sheriff, retiring in 2000 at the age of 74. Even then, she could fire a 9mm pistol well enough to keep her sidearm. She died April 13 at the Fairfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Anne Arundel County. | Meyer spent the next 37 years as a deputy sheriff, retiring in 2000 at the age of 74. Even then, she could fire a 9mm pistol well enough to keep her sidearm. She died April 13 at the Fairfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Anne Arundel County. |
| Meyer, 95, had Alzheimer’s and mild asthma, but her daughter, Marianne Poe, said nursing staff told her that her mother showed symptoms of covid-19, and Meyer died within 12 hours of developing a high fever and trouble breathing. Poe said her mother’s death certificate lists probable coronavirus. | |
| Nursing homes have been hard hit in the pandemic and, as of Friday, six patients who tested positive for the virus at Meyer’s nursing home had died, according to data from Maryland. | Nursing homes have been hard hit in the pandemic and, as of Friday, six patients who tested positive for the virus at Meyer’s nursing home had died, according to data from Maryland. |
| Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. | Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access. |
| Prince George’s County Sheriff Melvin C. High described Meyer as a “law enforcement trailblazer,” though one of her friends on the force said she privately played down the early challenges she faced. | Prince George’s County Sheriff Melvin C. High described Meyer as a “law enforcement trailblazer,” though one of her friends on the force said she privately played down the early challenges she faced. |
| “She definitely made mention of her being the only female at the time,” said Nancy Ridgely, who retired as a captain last year. “I wouldn’t say she said it was tough. She said it was different.” | “She definitely made mention of her being the only female at the time,” said Nancy Ridgely, who retired as a captain last year. “I wouldn’t say she said it was tough. She said it was different.” |
| Ridgely said Meyer was a “constant figure in the sheriff’s office.” She was kindhearted but also had a feisty side, with a temper that would flare “anytime she didn’t feel something was right, or someone wasn’t acting right.” | |
| Her family and colleagues said she loved working in law enforcement. “She didn’t want to leave,” Ridgely said, even though, factoring in payroll deductions, she stayed on for years receiving less money than she would have in retirement. | Her family and colleagues said she loved working in law enforcement. “She didn’t want to leave,” Ridgely said, even though, factoring in payroll deductions, she stayed on for years receiving less money than she would have in retirement. |
| “She came from very meager beginnings in New York, and she excelled at everything she did,” said her daughter, Poe, who is 64 years old. “And she was a very good mother.” | “She came from very meager beginnings in New York, and she excelled at everything she did,” said her daughter, Poe, who is 64 years old. “And she was a very good mother.” |
| Meyer was born in 1924, the youngest of four children. Her father was a bricklayer who built the family house in Queens and worked on the Empire State Building. Her mother was a seamstress. Both had immigrated from Sicily. | Meyer was born in 1924, the youngest of four children. Her father was a bricklayer who built the family house in Queens and worked on the Empire State Building. Her mother was a seamstress. Both had immigrated from Sicily. |
| In 1947, she married Edward L. Meyer, whom she met in her neighborhood, after another man she had planned to wed was killed in World War II in the Battle of Iwo Jima. | In 1947, she married Edward L. Meyer, whom she met in her neighborhood, after another man she had planned to wed was killed in World War II in the Battle of Iwo Jima. |
| Edward Meyer, who also had returned from the war, had worked with the gas company and as a taxi driver. Then he saw and answered an ad for a police officer job in Washington, D.C. He was hired, and the couple moved to Hillcrest Heights in Prince George’s County in 1952. Edward Meyer retired from the police force in 1973; he died in 1999. | Edward Meyer, who also had returned from the war, had worked with the gas company and as a taxi driver. Then he saw and answered an ad for a police officer job in Washington, D.C. He was hired, and the couple moved to Hillcrest Heights in Prince George’s County in 1952. Edward Meyer retired from the police force in 1973; he died in 1999. |
| Poe, the couple’s only child, said law enforcement was a constant theme for her while growing up. She occasionally accompanied each of her parents at work. | Poe, the couple’s only child, said law enforcement was a constant theme for her while growing up. She occasionally accompanied each of her parents at work. |
| When she was 11 or 12 years old, Poe said, her mother bought her a horse she named Charm. | When she was 11 or 12 years old, Poe said, her mother bought her a horse she named Charm. |
| Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. | Those we have lost to the coronavirus in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. |
| Poe said her mother had an uncanny knack for spotting shoplifters, finding hidden pockets sewn into coats and noting women as they left stores with apparent pregnancies that didn’t exist when they entered. “As a teenager, I would go out to stores with her and she’d say, ‘That person just put something down her pants,’ ” Poe recalled. “I’d be like, ‘Mom, we’re shopping.’ ” | |
| Meyer started her job in the sheriff’s department transporting juvenile delinquents to holding facilities, and taking female prisoners to the jail or to the psychiatric ward. Later, she served warrants and protective orders and was assigned to court security. | Meyer started her job in the sheriff’s department transporting juvenile delinquents to holding facilities, and taking female prisoners to the jail or to the psychiatric ward. Later, she served warrants and protective orders and was assigned to court security. |
| Her name showed up in the newspapers during a notorious trial for a woman accused of killing her four children outside Laurel. As a police lieutenant testified to a jury, the suspect leaped from her seat and screamed, “Stop it! I told you I was guilty, didn’t I?” according to an account in the Washington Evening Star in 1966. | Her name showed up in the newspapers during a notorious trial for a woman accused of killing her four children outside Laurel. As a police lieutenant testified to a jury, the suspect leaped from her seat and screamed, “Stop it! I told you I was guilty, didn’t I?” according to an account in the Washington Evening Star in 1966. |
| The article says the suspect, “trembling and weeping, was led out of the packed courtroom by Deputy Sheriff Annette Meyer,” who sat her next to her husband, an ex-congressman from Kansas who would later testify for the prosecution. | The article says the suspect, “trembling and weeping, was led out of the packed courtroom by Deputy Sheriff Annette Meyer,” who sat her next to her husband, an ex-congressman from Kansas who would later testify for the prosecution. |
| Lorna Jones, a retired corporal in the sheriff’s department, said Meyer “was a force to be reckoned with,” noting she led the effort to unionize. She also knew many politicians, and would be dispatched to lobby for the department. | |
| “She didn’t take any stuff from anybody,” Jones said. “She had to deal with all those men, so she had to be strong.” | “She didn’t take any stuff from anybody,” Jones said. “She had to deal with all those men, so she had to be strong.” |
| Even in her later years, Jones said, there were times when “things would get a little rough” in a courtroom and the clerk would hit the panic button. Deputies raced to the courtroom saying, “Annette is up there, we got to make sure she’s okay,” Jones said. “By the time we got up there, she’d have the person in handcuffs.” | |
| Meyer had been in the nursing home in Crownsville for about 10 years, and Poe said she visited her every day. During quarantine, when visitors were barred, she sometimes went to a window to look at her mother as she slept. | Meyer had been in the nursing home in Crownsville for about 10 years, and Poe said she visited her every day. During quarantine, when visitors were barred, she sometimes went to a window to look at her mother as she slept. |
| On Sunday, April 12, Poe said nursing home staff reported her mother was fine. The next morning, she got a call saying her mother showed symptoms of covid-19. | On Sunday, April 12, Poe said nursing home staff reported her mother was fine. The next morning, she got a call saying her mother showed symptoms of covid-19. |
| Poe went to the nursing home and demanded a gown, gloves and mask. “I told them, ‘I know she is dying,’ ” she said. | Poe went to the nursing home and demanded a gown, gloves and mask. “I told them, ‘I know she is dying,’ ” she said. |
| She was able to spend five minutes with her mother, whose breathing was labored. They had previously talked about end of life measures, and had decided it was unlikely she would survive a trip to a hospital and a ventilator. | She was able to spend five minutes with her mother, whose breathing was labored. They had previously talked about end of life measures, and had decided it was unlikely she would survive a trip to a hospital and a ventilator. |
| Meyer couldn’t speak but Poe took her hand. “I told her I loved her and she was a great mom.” She told her to squeeze her hand if she wanted to fight, and to let it go if she didn’t. | Meyer couldn’t speak but Poe took her hand. “I told her I loved her and she was a great mom.” She told her to squeeze her hand if she wanted to fight, and to let it go if she didn’t. |
| Tears came from her eyes, and Meyer let go of her daughter’s hand. | Tears came from her eyes, and Meyer let go of her daughter’s hand. |
| She died later that night. | She died later that night. |
| Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report. | Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report. |
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