Will County Deputy First Woman to Win National Rifle Competition

A Will County Sheriff's Office deputy has become the first woman to win the National Patrol Rifle Competition.

According to the sheriff’s office, Deputy Kim Heath was one of only a few women out of the 130 SWAT and patrol officers in the running. It was her fifth time competing.

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Heath didn’t expect to win since she wasn’t able to practice beforehand, but winning wasn’t the only thing on her mind. She mainly wanted to just make every round hit.

“I am extremely proud of being the first woman ever to win and hope this encourages more female officers to compete. I compete because I believe it is a very skilled training experience, whether you win or not.” Heath said in a news release. “There is such a great camaraderie at the competition and everyone supports and encourages each other. I have never felt discriminated against.”

Participants are evaluated on five courses for marksmanship and tactics, all based on a point system. The courses are tests against time, distance, physical movement, large and small targets, as well as surprise elements.

Heath became a Firearms Instructor for the sheriff’s office 10 years ago. When she was issued a patrol rifle eight years ago, she was quite surprised to find that she had a knack for it. After that, Heath not only attended the open range shooting dates at the sheriff’s office, but found herself pursuing practice sessions on her personal time.

Now, as an instructor, she says that not only does her success come from hours of practice, but also through teaching her fellow officers where she is presented with new questions and problems to solve.

Heath has been with the sheriff’s office for 12 years.