Well, I'm obviously discussing this with a lady cop or a relative of one.
Can you honestly say that a lady cop can do the following as well as a male cop?
Handcuff a big guy who is violent and on crack?
Lift a heavy piece of timber off of an injured person?
Chase down a fleeing suspect? (Granted, many overweight donut-chompers cannot do this either - but that is another issue.)
Intervene in a violent situation if no backup is handy or out of reach?
Use muscle to free trapped persons (earthquakes, crashes, fires)?
Go toe to toe with a male aggressor if attacked by surprise or otherwise?
Policemen play the role of society's muscle.
I can agree that policewomen look nicer in uniform, but they can never keep up with the boys.
We can agree that all things being equal (height and weight) the male in most instances would be stronger than the female.
My point is this......If you have for instance a male officer who is 5'5 125 lbs and a female officer 5'7 130 lbs which of the two could more effectively make the arrest or carry out any of the tasks you listed? Or as another example... a female who is in good physical shape as opposed to a male who is not. I do not think gender is a factor only size in some instances. There will always be encounters with criminals that are bigger and stronger than the office regardless of gender. L.E.O is more about tactics, judgment and force options not the size or gender of the officer.