PORT NECHES, Texas — The City of Port Neches' first ever female police chief was officially sworn in on Thursday.
City leaders and close family and friends gathered at the city council meeting for the historic moment.
Chief Cheri Griffith replaced former Port Neches Police Chief Paul Lemoine.
Griffith is the first woman to lead a municipal police force in Southeast Texas.
Griffith says she never thought she would become a police chief when she started her career in law enforcement
She just wanted to integrate herself into this male-dominated field and show that she could be a great officer just like anyone else.
But, she would soon have a change of heart
"I just felt like God kept opening those doors and I felt like this was what I needed to do and where I needed to be," Griffith said.
Griffith was officially sworn in to the position by Port Neches Mayor Glenn Johnson.
"It feels good, it feels very good. I'm excited. Chief Lemoine ran a great department and so i'm definitely starting off on some solid ground here," she said.
For the past two weeks, Griffith has already been hard at work in her new roll.
"It's a totally different perspective. It's a totally different type of job in law enforcement, so i'm just trying to get assimilated," Griffith said.
Griffith has 11 years of experience working with the Port Neches Police Department.
She is grateful to have support from her peers, including former Chief Lemoine.
"She's going to be a great police chief and a great administrator. Her work ethic and the job she's done since she's been here proved to me that she will be able to handle the job," Lemoine said.
Lemoine says he's given Griffith advice on working with other city leaders as she works to bring in ideas of her own.
"I'd like to focus on training opportunities for the officers getting more equipment and utilizing technology more and doing more with our recruiting efforts," Griffith said.
When asked how she feels about being Port Neches' first female chief, Griffith says she doesn't focus on that aspect, too much.
"I don't think too much about the gender, it's more of a focus on the job and being able to do that well," she said.
Chief Griffith says she did get to wear former Chief Lemoine's badge for a few days while she was waiting for her own to come in.
He even left some mementos in his office to pass along.