‘A walking testimony of praying every day’: Sacramento deputy shares how she turned her pain into purpose

(FOX40.COM) –South Sacramento native Olivia Turner had no idea that a sorrowful moment in her life would be the catalyst to her career in law enforcement.

In 2013, Turner’s 19-year-old cousin was shot and killed in Sacramento County. Ten days after the fatal event, another cousin, the shooting victim’s older brother, committed suicide. Turner said she was close to both of them.

“I showed up that night and saw the whole crime scene,” Turner said of the shooting. “It hit me hard. It was my first ever loss in my family.”

When officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene, Turner said they did not treat it as ‘just another homicide,’ and they supported her family through their toughest time.

“They cared for us. They asked us how we felt even though my family was out there, and they had an array of emotions going on,” Turner said. “They were kind to us, and they were gentle.”

After her cousin died in the shooting, Turner said she followed the case closely and attended every court proceeding for the person who murdered him.

“It’s very, very hard to sit behind someone who has taken your loved one and watch them smirk and have no remorse,” Turner said. “Just watching the process kind of sparked something in me. I knew I wanted to do something with people, but I just didn’t know what.”

Turner enrolled at Sacramento State University and earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. She said after she studied the justice system and participated in ride-alongs, she knew God was calling her into law enforcement. She went through the police academy and in 2017, landed a position as a deputy with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office .

It wasn’t long before Turner’s traumatic experience from 2013 came full circle. Her cousin’s death anniversary is on Dec. 21, 2013. Exactly seven years later, she responded to her first homicide call, on Dec. 21, 2020.

“It’s really amazing to me how you don’t understand how God will use you until it comes up later. It gives me chills just thinking about it,” Turner said. “It was such a tragic day for me so many years ago, and now I’m out in this uniform.”

Because of first-hand experience with loss, Turner said she can relate to the emergencies she responds to as a deputy. She remembers what grief felt like.

“I’ve gone through it, and it sucked when I went through it, but now I’m able to apply it,” Turner said.

Aside from her personal experiences, Turner also sought to add diversity to the force. According to the most recent data from the United States Department of Justice , about 15% of federal law enforcement officers are women. Additionally, about 61% of officers are white, 21% are Hispanic, and 10% are Black.

Turner, a Black woman, said she can relate to the community she serves.

“How many people complain about a certain race of law enforcement coming to their house? If you want to have that change you have to be it. So that’s another part of why I joined,” Turner said.

The loss of a family member was not the end of adversity for Turner. In 2022, she was diagnosed with cancer while pregnant with her daughter.

“I got into a patrol car one day – I was doing an overtime shift, and I got a call from my doctor. She told me to pull over, and she said, ‘I’m sorry to tell you but you have breast cancer,'” Turner said. “It’s just one of those things where I’m like ‘no, it can’t be me. You have the charts wrong – it doesn’t make sense because I run, I work out, I juice, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I’m completely healthy.'”

Turner said it was a very aggressive form of cancer and what she thought was just one tumor turned out to be four. She went through a mastectomy, chemotherapy, loss of all her hair, and radiation – all while taking care of a newborn baby who was born healthy.

“There were some days where I was really down and sick, but I would say ‘nope, let’s walk to the mailbox,'” Turner said. “I’m a walking testimony of praying every day.”

Today, Turner is healed, continues to serve her community and be a mom, and inspires the nearly 40,000 followers she garnered on TikTok through sharing her journey.

“She’s a resilient person and doesn’t look like what she’s been through,” said Turner’s best friend Markita Sayles. “She knew she was going to overcome, and she was never the type to ask, ‘why me?’ She always showed up with so much grace.”

Sayles said she met Turner during their time studying criminal justice together at Sacramento State and have been friends ever since. She also works as a deputy for another law enforcement agency and said she hopes Turner’s story will shed light on the beautiful side of law enforcement.

“She’s doing the groundwork in her community. She’s genuine and has good intentions. When she shows up to the scene, people can feel a sense of comfort,” Sayles said. “If I were ever in trouble, it would be her I’d want to respond. She’s a superwoman. A super friend. A super deputy.”

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