Did you know that the Minneapolis Police Department once had an official “Street Mother”?
Officer Georgiana Sharrot served in that role from 1914 until her death in 1938.
Based upon her excellent service as a Special Officer for the Juvenile Protection League, Officer Sharrot was recommended to take the civil service exam. After passing the police physical training course, she was appointed by Mayor George Leach specifically to advise youth. Her work was praised for providing stability for many boys and girls and teens and helping prevent juvenile crime.
Officer Sharrot was well known not only for her work on the Minneapolis Police Department. She was active in and at one time Secretary of the International Association of Policewomen and she served as the President of Policewomen’s Association of Minnesota and the Northwest.
On June 14, 1937, Officer Georgianna Sharrot succumbed to injuries received while on duty five months earlier when she was struck by a taxicab at Lyndale Avenue South and Franklin Street.
Officer Sharrot suffered a broken left leg and internal injuries and was taken to General Hospital for treatment. During her lengthly hospitalization, Office Sharrot had a stroke and died in the hospital from complications of her injuries and the stroke.
She was 67 years old at the time of her death and had been with the Minneapolis Police Department for 23 years. At the time of her death in 1938, Officer Sharrot was the fourth woman in law enforcement in the United States to have been killed in the line of duty.
Officer Sharrott resided at 5309 Columbus Avenue South. She was buried at Lakewood Cemetery on June 16, 1937. She was a widow and was survived by two adult children and several grandchildren.