Katrina Polk recently celebrated her 55th birthday as an accomplished businesswoman with the gift of an unconditional pardon from President Joe Biden. She owns and operates Dynamic Solutions for the Aging, a research development firm in 2006 and Anointed Services Ministries, a nonprofit that serves the aging population during the pandemic in 2020.
Polk, who now resides in Southeast D.C. and serves communities nationwide, has told very few people of a past conviction that occurred over 30 years ago.
“I come from a household that was super intelligent. My father was a weapon specialist for the United States Department of Defense, and my great great grandmother was a preacher,” says Polk who studied at parochial school growing up. “Having that type of background, I felt I was well rounded.”
She had a good reputation and was well known on the campus of West Virginia State College, where she was recruited to play basketball in 1987. After studying there for less than a year, she experienced a life-altering incident that involved serious legal repercussions.
“I remember it like it was yesterday. I was coming out of my dorm room, and Dennis Yancey was running, jogging toward the football field,” Polk brazenly recalled.
While in college, Katrina Polk was convicted of a non-violent felony in summer of 1988 during her freshman year. This year, she celebrated her 55th birthday with a clean record after receiving clemency on the third try. (Courtesy photo)
She said he was a fellow student-athlete known for his talent and headed to the NFL.
“He’s like, ‘Can you do me a favor?’ I said, sure,” Polk said. She explained to The Informer he handed her a package to pass along to a professor who she had never seen or met before.
“The professor tried to give me $200, but I said, ‘Hey, I don’t need anything. You need to talk to Dennis about that,’” she remembered. “I’m just dropping this off. I’ve got a class to go to.”
Little did she know, a schedule II narcotic was wrapped inside the package. Polk, unknowingly involved in a drug deal, gave crack cocaine to a school official designated as an informant. The decision that would strikingly shape the course of the rest of her life.
“By the end of that week, I was taking a long journey home to Philadelphia. I came back, I think on Monday,” said Polk.
When she returned, one of her peers let her know that a U.S. Marshal came looking for her. Confused and concerned, Polk went in to the address listed on a business card he left behind.
Once received by law enforcement, they began to document her side of the story.
“Dennis asked me to drop something off to a professor at a school. Did I think it would be crack-related? Absolutely not,” Polk, then 18, told the officers.
The marshals promised that if she was telling the truth, she’d only be charged with a state offense.
She says the Marshal told her all charges would be dropped if she signed a statement alleging she had seen Yancey sell drugs. Later she discovered that he repeatedly told law officers that Polk was innocent and unaware of any illegal activities taking place.
“I’ve never seen that man sell any drugs. I said, ‘I can’t write that… I can’t say that,’” she painfully narrated. “So they came back again. They kept asking me this way, that way. If I knew he was selling drugs, I would have never taken the package. I would have never done that.”
After spending a night at the precinct, Polk was released but the legal battle was far from over. She was involuntarily involved in a larger drug sting operation with over 80 defendants from across the country.
“There were so many people a part of the process that they ran out of public defenders,” she shared.
Thankfully, the judge assigned her to a well-known attorney that owed the court pro-bono work. Polk was informed of her indictment with two charges, one with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and the other intent to sell. However, the latter was dropped due to the lack of a monetary exchange.
Young and afraid, Polk tried to navigate the situation alone.
“I kept trying to tell my attorney and my mother that I wanted to go to court and have my day, in terms of a trial where I would be able to say this is not what it’s panning out to be,” Polk said. “I didn’t know that there was crack in the bag. But my attorney told me that I should have known.”
Her attorney also encouraged her to write a statement on Yancey to clear her name. Relying on integrity, she refused.
“They wanted me to lie on this man. And when I didn’t, I felt like they wanted to make me an example. And as a result of that, I wound up getting a felony count,” she continued. “I have a huge distrust for the criminal system because they lied to me twice. They wanted me to lie.”
Even though Polk told the truth, her trial remained in federal court and was not dropped to a state offense. After taking a plea, the judge ended up sentencing Polk to four years supervised parole and $50 fine. A tumultuous journey which she mounted as a trap ready to jam her at every turn. West Virginia State College asked her to leave quietly and Kentucky State University they shared the same sentiments when they found out about the drug charge.
Defeated, she packed up everything to move home to Philadelphia.
Despite her ability to enroll at a local community college and gaining a job at the Philco-Ford factory, her parole officer required her to meet with him every week at fluctuating days and times.
He promised to report her AWOL and send her to jail at the first absence.
Polk said, “Everywhere I turned, they treated me like a cold criminal, there was no career support or guidance from the courts. The gentleman that was the supervisory parole officer did everything in his power to try to disrupt me from being a productive citizen in the United States of America and Philadelphia.”
Success Despite Trials
Determined to succeed, Polk indeed soared. Upon completing the terms of probation, she interned with the legal firm, Leonard Parks & Associates and eventually earned full time employment.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in D.C. took note of her good character and sought after her to fill a vacancy in their office. The new city drew hope for Polk, who would no longer be required to “check the box” for crimes committed over a decade ago.
“This place was a blessing in terms of second chances, when I got here I was never turned down for a job,” said Polk.
Her hard work and integrity gained attention from Polk’s supervisors and co-workers.
“While employed with us, she conducted herself in a very professional manner. Her responsibilities required her to travel all over the country and interact with local union officers, leaders and staff members,” Patricia Ford, former vice president of the SEIU shared in a statement on her behalf. “She has overcome the obstacles of her past and has proven to be a good mother and friend.”
Ford was not the only one to give a positive review. One referral for Polk read, “Our world would be a better place if we had more people like Katrina.”
“Katrina is not just an upstanding citizen, she is an asset to her community. She assists, coordinates and manages the opening of food banks and free grocery programs,” Karrima Muhammad, director of Resident and Engagement Services at Enterprise Community Partners wrote in a reference for Polk. “She is a person that wakes up every day with the goal of helping seniors who are in need. Almost every day she meets her goal.”
However, for years her parents and close family suffered due to the criminal charges. Friends and family have easily testified to the toll that it has taken on her life.
Polk’s father, an employee at the Department of Defense lost certain security clearances limiting his paycheck and her husband experienced the same as a ranking officer in the military. Polk herself was also removed while on the job as a substitute at a school in Prince George’s County for not self-identifying as a felon.
“It put a lot of strain on my personal relationship,” she shared. “But I had a strong support system, a village that would not allow me to lose myself.”
As a mother of five, it impacted her parenting as well.
“I was super hard on my children. I was paranoid and they felt like I was overbearing but I didn’t want my story to be repeated,” said Polk.
In lieu of the obstacles, Polk led by example, receiving a bachelor’s degree from the National Labor College, PhD in public policy from Walden University and certifications in courses from Georgetown, Rutgers and Southeastern Universities respectively. She prides herself on living “in decency and in order.”
“Observing her at a close range across a variety of situations, I have had the opportunity to develop a sense of her values,” psychologist Melissa Warren shared about Polk. “She values compassion, fairness and service to others most highly.”
The Pardon Process
Over the years, Polk gained credibility and was asked to serve as a mayoral appointee on Age Friendly DC and became the CEO of Dynamic Solutions for the Aging, but one achievement always lingered in her mind. The thought of a pardon was far from realistic but the desire to clear her name remained.
“At the conclusion of my parole, I overheard someone mention it so I asked about it. But I was told you don’t need to know what it is because you aren’t going to get it,” Polk said. “But I always had it in the back of my mind.”
As the years passed, she watched idly as President Bill Clinton pardoned over 400 individuals during his time in office. Polk promised herself not to let another opportunity pass without at least trying to obtain clemency, applying under the Obama, Trump and Biden Administrations.
“Obama sent me a letter with his real signature on it saying that his interest was to be able to get people that are incarcerated on non-violent drug charges out of jail as opposed to the clemency of people that are out in society. I didn’t understand that, but I took it,” said Polk. “When I refiled, he didn’t actually deny me, it went over to Trump automatically. Trump didn’t do anything with it and it sat during his four years and then Biden did it.”
President Biden called Polk personally to deliver the news followed by U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer who congratulated her on successfully acquiring the pardon after 12 years.
Polk is now determined to use her experiences to encourage others through this process. She now has aspirations about publishing a memoir detailing the intricacies of her story.
“The pardon let me know that my mistake isn’t who I am, it’s not my life. The whole application process made me stronger, wiser and more compassionate for people,” Polk continued, sharing that she’s been asked by the Office of the Pardon Attorney to help re-evaluate the current system. “Achieving the pardon makes me want to help somebody through the process. I’m 55 now and there are no limits. I’m not sure how this pardon will help me, but I am about to find out.”
