(Radio Iowa) – Marion’s newest police officer is believed to also be the youngest ever hired by the eastern Iowa department. Officer Kylie McCaughey joined the Department in 2021 at 18-years-old and has since turned 19. McCaughey tells K-C-R-G T-V that she has wanted to be a police officer for as long as she can remember.“Probably since I was like three, I can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else,” she says. The Linn-Mar High School graduate traded in her cross country uniform to wear the same uniform as her school resource officer Tom Daubs.

”I tell kids in school all the time I have the best job in the world. I’m a police officer that gets to be in your schools. And then for someone like Kylie to see that a run with it and now be a police officer as well, that’s such an awesome experience for everyone involved,” Officer Daubs says. McCaughey completed about one year of college in 2020 during high school, and applied to the department the following year. Marion Police Chief Mike Kitsmiller tells K-C-R-G T-V wasn’t sure about hiring someone so young until he talked to McCaughey.

Officer Kylie McCaughey (KCRG photo)

”Our deputy chief came in and when we were going through the rankings he said hey I’ve got somebody that I think is fantastic. He said she’s 18-year-old and I kind of scoffed. He said, no talk to her yourself, and I did and I was like wow,” Kitsmiller says. Since being hired Officer McCaughey has completed the police academy and just recently finished her field training. The Marion Police Department is currently looking for more officers and Chief Kitsmiller says McCaughey is a great example of why those interested in the job shouldn’t count themselves out. He says if you’ve got what it takes to do the job they’ll definitely give you a look. For Officer McCaughey it’s only the beginning.

“It is everything that I’ve wanted it to be I mean there’s, there’s an opportunity every day to reach somebody. And to meet somebody in their worst situation and to possibly help,” according to McCaughey. And she says its the opportunity to do what she has always wanted to do.