One of Northville Twp.’s first female officers retiring after 22 years

Northville Township Police Officer Kristen Romac knew at age 10 she wanted to be both a light for others and a cop.

Her family’s Dearborn home was broken into three times within three years. On the third instance, the criminals ransacked her and her two sister’s bedrooms, an unusual move for burglars who tend to lay off kids’ rooms.

That terrified Romac, the oldest, and her two younger sisters, all four years apart.

A Dearborn police officer who came to the house sensed the intensity of their fear, particularly Romac’s middle sister. He made a promise that Romac never forget.

Law enforcement inspiration

Whenever he works, he vowed to drive by their house and shine the spotlight in their bedroom window.

“He’s like, ‘I’m going to watch the house and make sure you guys are safe.’ And we stood in the window and he shined that spotlight for many, many nights,” Romac said.

Romac, who is retiring Oct. 9 after nearly 22 years of helping others, has brought that same light every day to Northville Township since she joined the Department in 2004.

Fresh out of both Eastern Michigan University with a sociology major and the Schoolcraft College Police Academy, she quickly established herself as an expert in defensive tactics instruction and training, becoming one of the Department’s first TASER instructors.

She later went on to become a Master TASER Instructor and joined the firearms training unit.

From Officer of the Year to Push-Up Champion

She’s had a decorated career. She was named Officer of the Year in 2016, received the Director’s Award in 2022, completed stints as a field training officer (2016) to work with new employees, as well as a professional standards and training officer (2020), and, one month prior to her retirement, completed a record 50 push-ups in a two-minute fitness test.

That’s an achievement that gets her name posted in the Public Safety Headquarters gym until the record is broken.

“Kristen took a good training program and made it exceptional,” said longtime colleague Deputy Police Chief Matthew MacKenzie. “Her passion for training was at a very high level.”

So is her emphasis on giving her all, said Director of Public Safety and Police Chief Scott Hilden. “What makes Kristen an amazing officer was her commitment to always providing the best service. She truly cared about people and always doing the right thing.”

Family first

While she’ll focus on assisting the next generation of officers in a new capacity, she’s excited to make every sports practice and game her daughter, 12, and son, 11, participate in.

“My goal is to not wear a uniform anymore, to not drive an hour to work and then home another hour,” she said. “I still want to give back, so I want to do some training.”

She plans to ramp up her hours at the Oakland Police Academy in Auburn Hills, where she’s already an instructor on her off time. She’s also job shadowing at a company that teaches officers how to be trainers. “If neither of those pan out, I feel like I’d be a great greeter at Costco or something,” she said.

And she would. She’s quick to add levity to heavy circumstances as well the mundane.

She’s ‘compassionate, kind and truly cares …’

At the end of a shift, she became famous with her old afternoon crew for gassing up her police cruiser while belting out a tune, like “Careless Whisper” by George Michael, to entertain her colleagues.

“What makes Kristen a good officer is she is compassionate, kind and truly cares about the people of the Northville community and her co-workers,” said Northville Township Police Lt. Daniel MacArthur, who is a fellow firearms instructor with Romac.

“I’m going to miss the people I work with and the fun that I have with them, but I’m really going to miss the community,” Romac said. “When I’m at people’s houses, my goal is always leaving and making their day a little bit better, even though they may be having the worst time, whether they just had their identity stolen or something is going on with their child.

“Whatever it may be, I just want to leave with them smiling by the end of it, knowing that this is just a bad day, not that the rest of their life is going to be bad.”

Paving the Path for Female Officers

Romac was the third female officer employed at Northville Township. Her nickname quickly became Chick, not because of her gender, but because her maiden name was Ciccotelli, which is pronounced Chick-o-telly.

When she hired in, she thought there were more females because the civilians in Dispatch, the public safety officers who answer 911 calls, wore uniforms, too.

She bonded with everyone, even those without a badge.

“Officer Romac has made Northville Township better in multiple ways,” said Public Safety Officer Laura Engebretson. “One that stands out the most is being a pioneer and champion for all women, both sworn and civilian, in this agency to be the best they can be.

“Officer Romac would always give her time to train, to run scenarios, and even help practice different techniques and skills she has become instructors for. Ensuring the women felt comfortable in their roles was always a priority to Officer Romac. She is a great leader, teacher and instructor and will continue to instill that in the upcoming generation.”

Will niece carry on the law enforcement tradition?

Romac’s kids currently show no interest in being the next generation of law enforcement, but her 8-year-old niece does.

“She talks about it all the time, but asks, ‘Do I have to go to school?’ She really wants to be a police officer,” Romac said.

The precedent is there. Romac will act as a guiding light to her niece, just as the Dearborn officer did for her and her sisters nearly 35 years ago.

Thank you to Northville Township Communications Director Rene Wisely for contributing this article to SocialHouseNews.com.