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TEMPE, Ariz. – Officer Candace Kanavel with the Tempe Police Department works as a crisis intervention officer and hostage negotiator for the agency’s SWAT team, but now she’s added one more attribute to her resume as she won the Miss Arizona USA competition, the department announced last week.

“Join me in congratulating Tempe PD’s own, Officer Kanavel! … From Miss Tempe to Miss Arizona USA, your PD family is extremely proud of you! … #YesSheCan,” the agency said on Facebook.

Kanavel told AZFamily, “When you look at pageant queens wearing beautiful gowns and dressing up and then being a police officer and getting out there to get your hands dirty–on the surface level they’re very different. But on the inside, being on the inside of both, they’re very similar.”

Some of the crossover skills between her role as a police officer and the pageant circle include communication, leadership, and holding yourself to a high moral standard.

Kanavel sees many peer officers at the Tempe Police Department as older siblings who banter back and forth with her.

“Yes, they do give me a hard time,” she noted. Nevertheless, she plans to maximize her platform to promote the “Yes She Can” campaign. It is designed to foster confidence in women and help them develop situational awareness, according to AZFamily.

“Knowing that your dreams are not mutually exclusive; you shouldn’t limit yourself to one thing just because it doesn’t match up with the other,” Kanavel said. “I’m hoping that when people see me in this role and in my role as a police officer will help bridge that divide.”

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Source: www.lawofficer.com