This story is part of a series created to elevate the voices of young people in collaboration with the Blue Water Area YMCA. These stories are based on listening sessions at the Y and are independently reported by The Keel with assistance from the YMCA.

“That was one of the hardest things I ever had to do,” says Chloe Nabozney, speaking about her experience as a past participant of the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Explorer Post #2004 Program.

Nabozney is a recent graduate of Landmark Academy in Kimball and is inspired to become a police officer after attending the Explorers’ Tuesday night classes at the Sheriff’s office in Port Huron.

In the Explorer program, she learned many aspects of being a police officer, including how to draw a weapon, approach someone at a traffic stop, and pass the MCOLES Pre-Enrollment Testing for the police academy.

She also went on ride-alongs and was impressed by how respectfully the officers handled themselves with the public, even when they were getting berated. On one of the ride-alongs, she saw a classmate apprehended for stealing a package. Seeing him arrested had a somber effect on her.

But she wasn’t always a rule follower herself, and certainly didn’t think she wanted to be a cop. Throughout high school, she says she was a troublemaker and tried to pick fights.

“I didn’t follow rules. They didn’t mean anything to me,” she says.
 
When she lived in the Port Huron area, she says she created problems by getting into volatile disputes.

“There’s always some trouble happening somewhere in Port Huron and Marysville with the “Gratiot” kids who are loud and bad, and I feel parents don’t do enough about it,” she adds.

As an aspiring cop, Chloe wants to help juveniles the most, as she feels they need it the most.

During her involvement in the Explorer program, Chloe noticed that only two female police officers worked at the sheriff’s office, despite 50% of her Explorer classmates being girls. She realized that there are more male cops than female cops, but she feels this will work to her advantage.

“It’s not well thought of to be a girl cop,” she says. “I think that it will be easier to get a job because they need girls. And the world needs to see more women in male-associated roles.”

Nabozney also believes that there are not many black female officers, particularly in rural areas. By attending the police academy, she hopes to inspire other black women to become officers.

“I don’t see a lot of black people joining the academy, especially black women,” she says. “I hope that more black people will join and see that being a cop is not all bad. I think cops get a bad rap.”

She now lives in Imlay City and is attending classes at Mott Community College in Flint. She plans to apply to the Delta Police Academy in Saginaw and is also currently working out to pass the police academy fitness test.

After finishing the academy, she hopes to get a job as an officer in Grand Rapids or Oakland County. She wants to serve in a larger community with a higher crime rate, as she is active and needs excitement.