Affirmative action

Fred Lau always wanted to be a San Francisco cop, so much so that he literally hung upside down in hopes of getting the job. In 1970, there was a height requirement to join the police force and the 5-foot-7 Lau was an inch short. He tried hanging upside down from a bar to stretch his body. It didn't work. What did work was pressure from civil rights activists. The city dropped the height requirement in 1971 …

…in the country. Chief of Police Lau broke through another glass ceiling. Abolishing the San Francisco department's height restriction gave Lau a chance to fulfill a dream and be a pioneer. He is the only Chinese American to lead a big city police department. ``The fact that it's a very strong position, it's a very visible position and a very non-Asian position is very important,'' Lau said. ``It's very contrary to the stereotype.''