MASON, Mich. (WSYM) - It was a very special day at the Ingham County Sheriff's Office Saturday.
Four-year-old Henry Whitaker graduated as the department's very first cadet.
For eight weeks Henry took part in the Ingham County Sheriff's Office Cadet Program, learning about law enforcement.
Henry is the nephew of Deputy Grant Whitaker who was killed in the line of duty in December 2014.
Whitaker hit a tree during a high-speed chase in his patrol car.
Henry now wears the same badge number as his uncle. He was also given a uniform at the ceremony inside the Grand Whitaker room.
“[We are] defiantly proud, he asked for this and he committed himself to it,” said Laura Whitaker, Henry’s mother. “Since he could talk he's wanted to this and having the sheriff's office as our family and to Henry they're his uncles, he doesn't know anything different.”
Henry also received a certificate and an award.
Following Saturday’s ceremony, the group went bowling.
Henry dreams of becoming a police officer. His father says Henry was in the police car when it was 18 months old playing with sirens.
