When Dir. Boehmer was in college obtaining her teaching degree, she said her best friend was also going into law enforcement. “We took each other’s elective classes, and between the law enforcement classes and engaging with several Sheriff’s Officers and Command from the Apprehension Unit at my current employment, I decided to start with the Sheriff’s Office until I completed my teaching degree,” said Dir. Boehmer. “I was so in love with the profession I made a career out of it and I have loved it ever since. My energy, along with my commitment to protecting and serving, I knew God orchestrated the right path to fulfil my calling.”

Dir. Boehmer has worked in multiple positions at the WCSO. She started her career in floor security and then moved to Classification. She put herself through the Police Academy and worked in different areas like Narcotics/Special Operations/Morality. She even worked undercover as a decoy in vice-related crimes. “I loved it. We got pedophiles off the street. That was always a good feeling. Dir. Boehmer then decided she wanted to further her education and moved back to Floor Security, Transport and Classification. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Madonna University. Dir. Erickson: “No wonder you know how to do it all!”

Dir. Boehmer oversees the Classification Unit. “Classification is the analytical essential for jail security by assessment of behavior management, separation of predatory and vulnerable detainees, proper custody level and special needs assessment, protection of constitutional rights, timeliness of release and since the pandemic, increased management of court and attorney correspondence,” Dir. Boehmer said. “The team assigns detainees to proper housing according to classification custody level, demographical information, keep separates, protective custody, mental health concerns, medical concerns, program needs, security threat groups and other criteria determining housing location. At the end of our day, this team can be proud of the fact that with due diligence of Classification, we have increased the safety of our jail environment; thus, the community.”

“I come from a very loving, compassionate, and hardworking family. My parents (Mike and Denise) both maintained careers and always take care of my siblings and I,” Dir. Boehmer said. “Working a full-time job, my mom always made sure we had a homecooked meal every night (outside of our infrequent pizza nights and some bake goods that feed so many people).  My dad’s reenactments in the role of a Sheriff when we lived in Colorado also influenced my choice to join the Sheriff’s Office.” Dir. Boehmer said she always wanted to “wear the same star he did.” She said her parents taught her respect, honor, and love, all enforced with discipline and kindness.

Dir. Boehmer moved back to Michigan from Colorado during her high school years. She lived up north and did her last few years of high school in Dearborn Heights. She has a brother and a sister who both live close by today. Dir. Boehmer also has a 10-year-old daughter. “She’s my favorite part of the whole wide world! She’s such a good kid, a good athlete, a good soccer player,” she said. “She’s the sweetest person. She has had parents from other teams, coaches and refs come over and compliment her sportsmanship. Not only is she fast and good, but she is kind to the other team, she’s respectful when she plays. She’s also an includer. She will see someone isn’t getting played with and she’ll go over to them and… make sure they’re not by themselves. She’s truly my best friend.”

“I have really loved my career at the Sheriff’s Office. When I worked in plain clothes and got the bad guys – the pedophiles – off the street… and would see the girls (women who were trafficked and provided sexual acts for monetary value) graduate from the [Fresh Start] program and get their lives back. They’d be drug-free, they’d have real jobs. If you ever listened to the stories from some of the girls, it was devastating,” said Dir. Boehmer. “They were kids who used to sit and color, just like we did – and they had hopes, and dreams and happiness and innocence. As children we are so willing to please everybody, and I think people forget the human part of what put them in that position in the first place.” Dir. Boehmer said those women helped them capture and imprison two pedophiles. “Even the women didn’t want the kids to have the life that they had and I think that connection with them kept me so humble and empathetic toward people who’ve had different challenges in their lives. Being able to connect with them in that way may have even been a prouder moment than getting those pedophiles off the street.”

“Salmon… But that’s not a bad choice! I’m a salmon and steak person. I like taco Tuesday! I like sushi, too!”

“Family time is my number one favorite things.” Dir. Boehmer also has a few large groups of friends. “I enjoy my friendships and I’m a foodie. And I love traveling!” She will often go on last-minute trips, too!

“My Daughter has a chameleon named Sprout… And then she got a fish – she won it at the fair. Then, she took her own, hard-earned money and bought a little fish tank… now I’ve ended up with a big fish tank and we’re up to three fish.”

“I’m actually kind of handy! I tiled my own floor… I can cook. I can make things from scratch. I don’t even use recipes,” said Dir. Boehmer. She also seems to have a knack for interior design. “I actually designed my new house… the layout.” You should see pictures of the way she decorated it!

“Oh, OCD organized. I don’t know why, my cars are a hot mess, but my house – at any given time, someone can come in and it’s… seriously clean. People used to come to my house, Erika, and move a can because they thought it was funny. I would notice it right away. All my labels are faced the same way! I’m pretty bad…”

“I’m both! I know it sounds funny, but I can wake up early and get things done and have a super productive day, but I can also stay up late because I’m enjoying life!”

JUNK FOOD! “I’m a high calorie person! It’s terrible!” Dir. Erickson: “OK… what are your go-to foods?” Dir. Boehmer: “I would say chocolate. Chocolate cake… plain, dark chocolate, chocolate covered nuts…. Ooh and coconut. I love dark chocolate!”

“Never lose your compassion for people. In this career you will never unsee some horrific crimes that you could never imagine committing or being a victim of. Be professional anyway,” said Dir. Boehmer. “You may not be able to positively change the mindset and energy of all but do your part to influence those to honor the badge and work with pride in doing the right thing. You will have people treat you with disrespect and hate but continue to love anyways. You’re supposed to be that way in life. Period. God will judge you the way you judge others!

“I want to travel,” said Dir. Boehmer. “Hawaii, Egypt, and… Pictured Rocks. Also, the Grand Canyon. Alaska! That’s another one. What I would also really like to do is a European cruise.”

“Be kinder to yourself,” she said. “I feel like we’re so hard on ourselves. I am more forgiving of somebody else than I am to myself.” Another big lesson Dir. Boehmer said she has learned is that you’re not everybody’s cup of tea and it’s OK! “People are always going to find reasons not to like you. It’s none of your business why somebody doesn’t like you and it took me a long time to get there,” she said.

LaKeisha Solomon was hired in March of 1997 in an entry-level position (a typist) in purchasing. She then began her administrative work at the Sheriff’s Office in 1998. In the early 2000s she started working as an administrative assistant at the WCSO headquarters. In 2009, she assisted former Undersheriff Daniel Pfannes. She began supervising personnel after someone saw excellent leadership qualities in her around 2015. “Honestly, it was NOT a position that I wanted. I didn’t want to manage anybody but me,” Solomon said. “But it was a great experience!” Solomon was still assisting Pfannes, however. “This is our joke – me and Undersheriff Pfannes divorced each other in maybe 2018 or 2019… it became overwhelming for me to maintain everything. I shifted outside of his office and into my own space. Now, we’re really just trying to make personnel better – digitizing… but we still have a long, long way to go. But, when my time here is up, I want to say that I participated in something monumental for this department.”

“Essentially, I oversee the day-to-day operations (the more personnel side right now) and that involves quite a bit, because we do quite a bit in Sheriff’s personnel,” Solomon said. “We take part in the hiring process of our law enforcement staff, along with our central HR staff, so there’s a lot of back-and-forth with the staff downtown. We manage the civilian process of hiring, but the law enforcement hiring is obviously a lot more extensive… a lot of background investigations. It’s a very thorough process. We process our hiring, our evaluations, our terminations, and FMLA is a huge deal right now since Covid. We do job postings… changes of employment and employee updates for every employee in the agency.” A major project right for Solomon and her staff right now: a new payroll and personnel system for the whole county. She is also helping the jail transition team with inventory and document management.

“I love working with people, I love helping people, I love thinking positively and making positive changes,” said Solomon. “I just feel like if you are not making a difference in what you are doing it’s null and void. I know I can ruffle feathers sometimes, however, my goal is always to find a way to take a department to another level.”

“I am an extreme multitasker! It’s almost CRAZY! Another one would be that I’m very passionate about everything I do… and I’m a POSITIVE person,” said Solomon. “Life has lately been showing me that you’ve got to keep moving, no matter what happens. You have to keep going. You cannot give up!

Although Solomon lost both of her parents, she has one brother and one sister. She grew up on the east side of Detroit. She has two children (a daughter, India, 30, and a son, Raymond, 22, who just moved back to Michigan from California). “My oldest daughter has three kids, so I have grandkids! I love spending time with my kids and grandkids and doing family things,” said Solomon. She added that her 10-year-old granddaughter is her “mini me.” She also has two grandsons who are 3 years old and 8 years old.

“Managing people. I’m just going to be frank with you,” said Solomon. “You have to be gifted to do it. Some people, they just can’t wait to tell somebody else what to do, it’s such a challenge. The challenge is you have to meet people where they are. Everybody is different and you have to accept them. You have to train people and sometimes come down hard and bring the discipline. If you handle people harshly it’s just going to be a negative effect. Period. There’s a separation of a manager not being friends, but being a friendly manager, but stern… and also having compassion. For me, having a manager with those qualities was everything, so I try to ensure that that is how I operate on a daily basis.”

“I was always into computers and typing. I was the President of our Business Professionals of America Club,” Solomon said with a laugh. She also did co-op programs. “Coming out of school and going directly into that area was fitting for me… Co-op was a great program to structure kids – how to get a job, how to dress for a job, the professionalism that’s involved. I guess that’s just the way the universe works! I went straight into something I love doing!”

“I own a women’s clothing boutique that used to be located right over here in Midtown on Forest,” Solomon said. “That has shifted online for me. I sell women’s clothing, jewelry, handbags, evening wear… they go from sizes small to 3x. The name of the store is Elite Couture Boutique (ShopEliteCoutureBoutique.com). We’re classy and conservative. The goal was to be set apart. I do think with boutiques you have to have things that are rare, so… I never buy a lot of any ONE item, and I never repeat it.” Solomon said she hopes to reopen in Midtown.

“I also don’t think people don’t know how silly I am! Most people think I am so, so serious! I am, but I am REALLY FUNNY!” (She is!)

“Traveling and shopping. Honestly, shopping is a relaxation thing for me,” Solomon said. “I don’t always need to buy something, although most of the time I do. But it’s a therapy for me. Solomon says spending time with her family is #1, and spending time with her best girlfriends is everything. “The bond with them is extremely strong! We have a sisterhood. I think it’s important to have strong friendships. It keeps us sane – not just friends, but really good girlfriends who can support each other while you’re going through challenges or simply having a good time! I have a best friend – a girlfriend, who we refer to one another as a ‘gister,’ a girlfriend-sister.” They have their own special dance that they do and make silly videos together. “I swear it’s like we’ve known each other all of our lives,” Solomon said.

“HAHAHA. OHHH… to be honest I am not the most organized person – I don’t want to call myself messy, but I am not the most organized person! I’m working on that! Part of my problem is I need to organize things around me, but really, I need to be more aggressive with writing things down,” Solomon said. “I keep so much stuff in my brain that it’s on OVERLOAD. I’m literally learning to put things on paper. I will have my entire to-do list in my brain, and when you do that, you’re going to forget stuff! I’m not going to say messy, though, because I’m not putting that into the universe! I’m learning to be more organized!”

“Oh my God, I stay up late AND I wake up early. I don’t get much sleep at all! How crazy is that? Sometimes I don’t even know how I’m functioning,” said Solomon. Dir. Erickson: “I’m assuming coffee is your best friend?” Solomon: “I’m not a coffee girl! I love tea! I love ginger tea, I love green tea, and I mix teas together…” (Solomon was drinking a fancy tea while we were talking: The Medicine Ball tea from Starbucks (she said it is a peace tranquility tea mixed with a jade citrus mint tea, green tea, and infused lemon… and Solomon gets three pumps of honey. “That’s all I need!”)

“Larenz Tate. I don’t think it’s a crush though… we’re in a relationship, OK!? He just doesn’t know. Our birthday is on the SAME DAY. We’re both Virgos. September 8th.”

“Food, because I don’t really eat junk food. At least twice a month… it’s potato chips and chip dip,” said Solomon. “I love Heluva chip dip. Oh my goodness. That is something I don’t do often… but that’s my thing. And I really love champagne… a really good champagne. Oh, and shopping. It’s bad. My granddaughter said, ‘your closets are like a store!’ She said, ‘I don’t think you should buy anything else because you don’t have any more hangers!’”

“Be very optimistic. The main question I get is, ‘is there room for advancement?’ The answer to that question is ‘yes,’” Solomon said. “Be patient and optimistic. You can go wherever you want to go in Wayne County, but you have to be very patient and open to learning. You have got to learn on the level you are on before you can ever go to another level. I think most of us want to get to where we want to go really, really fast, but it’s about taking your time and learning what you need to learn.” Solomon also stressed the need to develop positive relationships. “You can almost get anywhere and do anything if you have the right relationships, which goes back to what I was saying about how you treat people. People always remember how you treated them. So, when you have a good relationship with people, they will go out of their way for you. Be kind to people because everybody is battling something. You don’t always know what people are dealing with… give some sunshine where you can. The universe will deliver to you what you put out there!”

“This year I decided… I want to start doing things I’ve never done before,” Solomon said. “I’ve been living in a really comfortable state of doing things a certain kind of way. One thing is I want to take a flight all by myself. I’ve never traveled alone. I want to fly somewhere… to overcome my fear of flying. I definitely want to travel to Africa. And getting my store back open is major goal of mine… along with opening up a second location.” Solomon hopes for that to be her retirement plan.