For all of her 20 years working at the La Mesa Police Department, Capt. Katy Lynch has had a simple philosophy: Be a good human first, then be a good cop.
“What you do matters to every single person you encounter,” Lynch said. “If you keep those two things in your mind, you’ll do good work.”
Lynch embraced that by becoming LMPD’s first LGBTQ liaison in 2015, a decade after joining the force. She wanted community members to know they would have the softest place to land, should anything happen to them that needed to be reported to the police.
Her younger self would never have fathomed being so comfortable with her identity that she could take on the role of LGBTQ liaison without feeling any anxiety.
“There was no hesitation. But I was very, very comfortable in my own skin at that point, very confident. And again, it allowed me to help people,” Lynch said. In contrast, when she returned to San Diego from college in Oklahoma, she tried to be private about her orientation.
“I would not have been comfortable walking down the street holding my girlfriend’s hand. There’s no way.”
Lynch grew up in Escondido in the ‘90s. Her own experience being bullied influenced her decision to apply for LMPD while working in retail management after college.
“Kids are vicious. And I hated that feeling and that’s really only something you can understand if you’ve lived it,” Lynch said. “The reason why I wanted to become a police officer was to stand for those who needed someone to stand for them.”
She credits both the changing culture and proving herself in the police academy with coming to terms with her identity, leaving behind the secrecy and shame she learned as a child.
“Maybe it was surviving police academy and putting on the badge that I finally got comfortable in my own skin,” Lynch said.
A decade after becoming the liaison, Lynch is being recognized in what she described as the greatest honor of her career.
At the San Diego County Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast in May, she will receive the Assistant Chief Phil Collum Activist Award.
The award was first bestowed at the annual LGBTQ+ leadership event in 2024, a month after Collum died from cancer. It honors law enforcement individuals who embrace Collum’s values of strengthening understanding, respect and collaboration between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community.
At the Chula Vista Police Department, Collum was the first Black and openly gay sergeant, lieutenant, captain and assistant chief. At the time of his death, Collum was the highest-ranked openly LGBTQ+ law enforcement professional in San Diego County.
“Phillip was a true trailblazer,” said William Lopez, Collum’s widower who now sits on the award committee. “While I don’t personally know Capt. Katy Lynch, I’m aware that she collaborated with Phillip on several LGBTQ+ policing initiatives. I’ve also heard consistently positive feedback about her from colleagues I trust, which is what led me to nominate her for this year’s honor.”
Lynch described Collum as having a calming presence that she tries to emulate as a leader. Lynch, who is warm, animated and self-deprecating in person, feels undeserving of the award with two trailblazers’ names attached to it.
“Katy Lynch’s name doesn’t go with Harvey Milk and Phil Collum,” she said. “Are you kidding me? These are both giants. They’re giants.”
That undercuts her own impact in La Mesa, where 10 years after taking on the department’s LGBTQ liaison role, she became LMPD’s first female captain.
But what she wants to be remembered for is not those milestones, which she said only came about because of other LGBTQ+ and women leaders who overcame challenges in a less-accepting world.
“That’s what I hope my legacy can be: How much I love this job,” Lynch said. “I love helping people. I love the fulfillment that comes with service to others.”
While she still feels both honored and undeserving of having her name associated with Collum’s, Lynch decided to take the award not so much as a confirmation of past service, but as her obligation to the future.
“I hope to live up to that title every day going forward,” Lynch said.
