HOWELL, Mich. (AP) - Kourtney-Chloe DeBottis and her brother Dahne DeBottis grew up playing cops and robbers. They always wore the badge.
The badge became real when Dahne became a Hamburg Township Police officer and Kourtney-Chloe became a Michigan State Police trooper, inheriting the badge that belonged to her mother, retired Trooper D.J. Oswald-DeBottis.
“I knew from a very young age that this is what I was supposed to do,” Kourtney-Chloe said.
The two women are the first mother and daughter to serve as Michigan State Police troopers. Serving in law enforcement, however, is a three-generation family tradition.
The siblings’ maternal grandfather, Dean Oswald, was a St. Louis police officer for a couple years before changing careers and joining the Bay City Fire Department where he retired. Their maternal uncle is a Michigan State Police motor carrier.
Their paternal grandfather, Frank DeBottis, is a legend who spent his career as a Southfield police officer and worked undercover narcotics. Their father, Patrick DeBottis, is a retired Hamburg Township police officer who carved out a distinguished career assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Dahne’s addition to the Hamburg police was a bittersweet moment for the close-knit family because Dahne filled the spot left by the death of his father’s partner, Sgt. James “Jim” Sanderson, who was killed in a car crash in September 2014.
“It was an honor to take his spot,” Dahne said quietly.
Dahne, a 2008 graduate of Howell High School, is aware that some people feel he has big shoes to fill, considering the highly respected reputations of his parents and Sanderson, whom he called Uncle Sandy.
However, he also knows, “I have my own shoes to fill.”
The Livingston Daily Press & Argus (https://bit.ly/2nU0v34 ) reports his law enforcement career began as a member of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office’s Explorers Post. He believes his grandfathers and parents led by example, and he hopes to retire after a career at Hamburg. At retirement, he hopes he’s left a legacy of respect like the family members before him.
“Dahne wanted to be a cop forever,” his father said.
“He wanted to be a K9 officer since he was 4,” his mother added.
“He was always asking about stories and wanting to be around adult conversation,” Patrick added, eyes watering as the conversation moved to his partner.
“You could just tell. Dahne would come to work with me and Sanderson, my partner, used to watch the kids. . Dahne would pound on the typewriter; he was making police reports,” he added.
The Hamburg officers who remember Dahne as that little boy are pleasantly amused but not surprised that he walks the beat as their brother in law enforcement.
“From my earliest memory, I wanted to be like my mom and dad,” Dahne said, calling his parents “my heroes.”
“I didn’t know the extent of what they did. As I grew up, I got to understand what bad people were and what crimes were,” he added.
Kourtney-Chloe graduated from Howell High School in 2011. She had applied to the Michigan State Police but put it on hold to complete her bachelor’s degree.
Following graduation from Saginaw Valley State University, Kourtney-Chloe began the application process with Southfield Police Department, but it wasn’t a fit and she re-applied to the state police.
Her mother, D.J., had worked for a sheriff’s department where she met two troopers who invited her to the police academy to earn her certification as a defense tactics instructor.
The moment D.J. walked into the academy, she knew she had found home and that was an experience echoed by Kourtney-Chloe, who graduated during the organization’s 100th year with the 132nd recruitment class. Her mother is a graduate of the 100th recruit class.
Kourtney-Chloe now carries the badge her mother carried, including the crumpled hat badge that was accidentally run over after the hat flew off her mother’s head during a service call.
The similarities also extend to mother and son - both D.J. and Dahne graduated from the Delta University Regional Police Agency - D.J. in the 33th class and Dahne in the 93rd.
What attracted both Kourtney-Chloe and Dahne to police work, in part, was the life their parents led, including the relationships they formed among their colleagues and the community.
The siblings are proud of their parents’ legacy.
“I’m the product of two cops,” Kourtney-Chloe said. “I didn’t get away with a lot. I appreciated having good role models to grow up to. . To say it runs in my blood is an understatement.”
___
Information from: Livingston Daily Press & Argus, https://www.livingstondaily.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.