PG County Sheriff’s Office honors Stephanie Walker-Hicks, first Black female deputy sheriff

Stephanie Walker-Hicks, 70, was publicly honored by the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office as "the first Black woman to serve as deputy sheriff in the county," the agency said in social posts during Black History Month. The sheriff’s office published an Instagram photo credited on February 16, 2026, captioned, "For Black History Month, we proudly honor Stephanie Walker-Hicks," and shared related remarks on its Facebook page during the same observance.

Walker-Hicks’s entrance into county law enforcement began in 1979 when she applied "through a newspaper ad despite having no prior exposure to law enforcement work," the sheriff’s office noted. The post says that decision kick-started a 23-year-long career with the sheriff’s office, marking her as a long-serving deputy whose hiring expanded the agency’s ranks in Prince George’s County at a time when few Black women held sworn positions.

The sheriff’s office post described Walker-Hicks’s service with the phrase "professionalism, compassion, and quite strength," language published by the office on social media during the February remembrances. The office also framed her impact this way: "By simply showing up, doing her best, and serving with integrity," the sheriff’s office said, "she paved the way for generations of women and black deputies who followed."

The social-media recognitions were presented as part of a series commemorating the contributions of African Americans who worked for the sheriff’s office. Alongside Walker-Hicks, the sheriff’s office singled out Alfonzo D. Black II as "the county’s first black sheriff" and included retired Captain Daniel Hall in the set of Black History Month posts, placing Walker-Hicks in a roster of officials the agency identified as pioneers in county law enforcement.

The Instagram post is dated February 16, 2026; the Facebook message carrying the quoted language appeared in the department’s Black History Month posts. The agency’s public acknowledgement preserves key facts now on the record: Walker-Hicks began service in 1979, completed a 23-year career with the sheriff’s office, and is recognized by the agency as a first for Black women in the county’s deputy ranks.

The sheriff’s office’s February posts bring Walker-Hicks’s hiring and long service into public view but leave open details that local records or interviews could confirm, including exact dates of service, rank history, and assignments during her 23 years. For now, the county’s own social posts place Stephanie Walker-Hicks among the early Black law-enforcement pioneers honored by the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office during Black History Month.