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ls Become Friends on the Force
describes herself as the more conservative of the
pair, while Gray is more adventurous, having
had many outside experiences and travels that
Villegas lacks. At the same time, Gray admires
Villegas’ police experience and professionalism.
Talking to them, it’s easy to see how the mutual
respect grew between them and how they complement
each other with differing experiences and
temperaments.
When Gray expressed an interest in being an
officer, Villegas was able to guide her. “In the
police department, you don’t ever want to say,
‘Oh, this person would be a great officer,’ because
if it doesn’t work out, it falls back on you,” she
explained. But Gray earned her best recommendation,
working hard toward her own goal once
she’d decided to become an officer, excelling at
the academy and in field training.
Before her travels, Gray played basketball at the
University of San Diego. After graduating, she
moved to England, where she played professionally.
“My main goal after graduating college was
to get to Australia,” Gray explained, “but because
I went to a smaller school, it was hard for me to
get my name out there.”
After moving to New Zealand, she continued
“Then I’ll pick on you.” She laughed.
her pro basketball career, later moving back to
England and then to Australia. While in Australia,
she got to play against the best female player
in the world, Laura Jackson, who stands 6 feet
6 inches tall and is on the Australian women’s
Olympic team. From Australia, Gray moved back
to England to continue her career.
“After my last time in England, I came home
and someone asked me to play on a local league,”
Gray recalled. “And they told me about Diana.”
Remembering her from high school, “I was like,
‘I don’t like that girl!’” she said, laughing.
In the local league, the two women played together
and quickly became friends. Searching for
a new direction in her life, Gray had considered
becoming a nurse but found Villegas’ example
a promising one and decided to become a police
officer instead.
“Diana was a very good mentor for me, from
the time I considered being an officer, through
the academy, and even on. She’s always been
there,” Gray said. “I absolutely love her. She’s
really great! She was my beat partner, so we got
to spend a lot of quality time together and I got
to learn a lot more from her as an officer.” They
were partnered for six months, patrolling from
Whipple to Redwood. On every call they answered,
Gray explained, she felt better knowing
Villegas had her back — a sentiment Villegas
strongly echoed about Gray.
On the force for a little over 18 months now,
Gray finds being an officer “life-changing. The
opportunity to see various parts of people’s
lives, you get to make a difference,” she said. Her
relationships with co-workers are different from
those of a more typical office job. “Every day you
go out there. You never know what could happen.
You have to make decisions that may or may not
impact your partner.” But far from being grim,
Gray finds the work rewarding. “We have a lot of
fun, we laugh,” she added.
“I grew up in Redwood City,” Gray said. “I was
born and raised here. So it’s been very nice for
me to come back and try to make a difference in
the community that I grew up in. I love it. It’s the
“Every day you go out there. You
never know what could happen.”
best.”
Whether it’s working a beat on patrol, or
safeguarding and educating our youth, these
two fine officers are a credit to Redwood City’s
community. From a discordant beginning, they’ve
grown together as great friends and professionals.
“Jessica and I compare Redwood City to a D-1,”
Villegas said. “Division One. In college basketball,
that’s the best you can get. You can’t get any
better.”
Left: Jessica Gray, Right: Diana Villegas
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