Sumith Prasad
In Netflix’s biographical series ‘Griselda,’ June Hawkins is a Miami PD officer who sets out to bring down Griselda Blanco. June is the first officer who recognizes the threat of a new “woman narco” in the town. Although her concerns about the new player in the city’s drug scene are ignored at first, June’s findings help the authorities immensely to build their cases against the “Godmother.” She also leads CENTAC, a tactical unit formed to bring down the influential drug lords in Miami. June is based on a real detective who is now regarded as a pioneer as far as the history of women officers in the state is concerned!
June Hawkins’ Life as a Miami PD Officer
June Hawkins was born in Miami to a Cuban mother. She attended the Florida State University’s College of Criminology & Criminal Justice as a Criminal Justice/Sociology student. June became a police officer in the mid-1970s, a time in history when women officers were rare. As a female officer, June dealt with several challenges during the early part of her career but she was able to find “brothers” among her colleagues. Since she knew Spanish, she was often sought out as a translator. The officer, at the time, mainly worked as an intelligence analyst.
June’s career peaked during the Miami drug war of the 1970s and 1980s. As part of the homicide department, she made a comprehensive report about the key players involved in the crime scene of the region and forty-two significant cases of the time, which was sent to Washington D.C. The report ensured funding for authorities in southern Florida to fight the growing crimes, which were seemingly a result of the drug war. June considers the report one of her proudest achievements to date. During her career, June also served as an undercover officer and a police spokesperson for Dade County. In addition, she was a hostage negotiator for around ten years.
June Hawkins’ Life Now
June Hawkins retired from the police force in 2004. She also moved from Miami to Tennessee with her husband Al Singleton, a former Miami-Dade drug homicide detective who was an integral part of the “CENTAC 26” team that brought down Griselda Blanco. Although June and Al are just colleagues and co-heads of CENTAC in the biographical series, in reality, they eventually married. The family is based in the city of Cookeville, the county seat of Putnam County, Tennessee.
June’s son Eric Reynolds followed in his mother’s footsteps to become a police officer of the Boynton Beach Police Department. As an experienced cop, June made sure that she did not force the law enforcement career on her child or glorify the line of work. Regardless, Eric graduated in Criminal Justice from Florida State University, his mother’s alma mater. In 2012, Eric was shot in the foot during a gun battle that resulted in the death of a bank robbery suspect. After her retirement, her son’s near-death experience was one of the major and unfortunate developments June had to deal with as a mother.
Since June was away in Tennessee, she couldn’t be with Eric, who was in Florida, right away. “Eric is my only son. My only child. The sun rises and sets on him. […] I have been to homicide scenes, horrible death scenes involving children, babies, unbelievable stuff we all have seen and experienced. […] But when it is your own child… if you are a mother, you are a mother first I guess,” June said about the horrific incident while appearing in the podcast ‘Law Enforcement Talk: True Crime and Trauma Stories.’ Furthermore, June is highly active on social media, where she frequently offers her comments on current political developments.
June and Eric are awaiting the premiere of ‘Griselda’ on Netflix. The former cop shared the promotional posters of Juliana Aidén Martinez, who plays June in the biographical show, after they were released by Netflix. “The family is so happy and excited for Griselda on #Netflix. Thank you Julianna Martinez; she is playing my mother’s character, Homicide Detective June Hawkins,” Eric shared. In June 2023, June celebrated her birthday with Eric and her grandchild Kilian, which makes it evident that the former detective is cherishing her post-retirement life with her family.
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