Cathy Lanier went from being a teenage mom on food stamps to being Washington D.C.’s first female chief of police.
Hers was one of the steadying voices that emerged in the wake of Monday’s mass shooting at the Navy Yard.
The tough-as-nails commander told NBC News that she readily gives out her cellphone number to anyone in the community who might need it.
(WATCH the video or READ the story from NBC)