ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – History was made in St. Augustine on Wednesday when Jennifer Michaux became the first woman to be sworn in as the city’s police chief.
The swearing-in ceremony Wednesday afternoon was packed with law enforcement officers and civilians.
Michaux began her law enforcement career with St. Augustine Police Department in 1995 as a patrol officer and worked her way up the ranks. She served as a commander before becoming the new police chief.
While she made history by becoming the first female police chief of St. Augustine, it’s something that she says she doesn’t harp on too much because of her time spent in the Navy before becoming a patrol officer.
“I feel that I’ve always worked hard and I felt like I never got it because I was a female and I never looked at what I was doing differently than the guys,” Michaux said.
She says she realizes her position is a position of inspiration to many girls and young women who will look up to her as a role model.
“The opportunities are wide open. You just have to be willing to do what scares you,” Michaux said. “That’s what I try to teach the ladies entering law enforcement -- be the one that steps up and do the scary job because sometimes we tend to step back and say no, somebody else will do that.”
She takes over a police department that she says was well maintained by former Police Chief Barry Fox, who retired. Going forward, she says, her one mission is to make sure the department is involved in more community events so that her officers are viewed more as average everyday people and not just someone in a uniform with a badge and gun.
“We’re part of the community and we’ll be police if we have to,” she said. “But first and foremost, we’re part of the community -- community partners. We want to be police second.”