NPO Whatley

Officer Whatley, who grew up in Detroit’s 9th precinct, had first considered a career as a lawyer. Her sister, who was a police officer, convinced her that this kind of work would be a better fit for her, and her sister turned out to be right.

Some of our Neighborhood Police Officers become NPO’s well into their police careers, but Officer Whatley found her niche early on. After working the streets for a year and a half, she was recruited to the 5th Precinct NPO team and hasn’t looked back. “Everyone was awesome,” she says.

Her first community event as an NPO - 2019 Halloween in the D - was especially memorable. She was part of the haunted house contingent, and “I had a lot of fun scaring the kids,” she recalls. That year they gave out more than 20,000 bags of candy.

Officer Whatley ran track and cross country in high school, and in her off hours continues to run “just for fun” and to de-stress. Whatley likes the slower pace that comes with being an NPO. “You get a chance to talk to people, to get to know them,” she says.

A lot has changed with the pandemic, though, as person-to-person interactions are more limited. So many of the special events that make up a big part of the NPO’s job have had to go virtual, which is a real challenge, she says.

“We have to get creative to find ways to interact with the community.” A March 4 online game night was one of the ways the NPO’s have found to adapt to our “new normal”. We hope to see Officer Whatley and the rest of the 5th Precinct NPO’s at in-person events sooner rather than later, so we can thank them for a job well done.

Neighborhood Police Officer Whatley. Image courtesy of Officer Whatley