GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. -- The federal agent who was ambushed outside a Clay County grocery store in September 2017 shared his story with students interested in pursuing careers in criminal justice and law enforcement.
Drew Stokes, an aviation enforcement agent with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, talked to students at Clay High School Tuesday about the shooting that left him on the brink of death.
“These kids don’t often get to meet somebody who’s been shot in the line of duty and survived and recovered the way that I have,” Stokes said. Stokes works for CBP Air and Marine Operations tracking down drug smugglers in Central and South America.
The students were members of Clay High School’s Academy of Criminal Justice. The program gives students real-world experience in various law enforcement and criminal justice fields.
Stokes revealed intimate new details about his brush with death, including that he had visions of his grandmothers and two coworkers who had passed away; they told him “We’re not ready for you yet.” He also took many questions from students.
Stokes hoped his candor helped encourage those on the fence to either pursue a career in law enforcement or maybe switch gears to a different field.
“If they want to go into this line of work or they want to join the military, we have to be truthful with them,” Stokes said. “We can’t sugarcoat these things. We have to be able to tell them and treat them like young adults so they can make these decisions themselves.”
Malynn Nooney, a senior who aspires to become a prosecutor, was in the audience Tuesday. She shadowed 911 dispatchers as part of her experience with the Academy of Criminal Justice and plans to be a dispatcher while in college.
“[In dispatch] I’ve only ever heard one side of the story, but to hear the side of the victim and the law enforcement, to me it was absolutely just humbling,” Nooney said.
Connor Davies, also a senior, told First Coast News he wants to someday work for the FBI. He said Stokes’ speech inspired him to continue his pursuit of law enforcement and the danger didn’t deter him.
“Just hearing all the stories of what happened, what happens bad what happens good, it still hasn’t changed my mind,” he said.
Meanwhile, Stokes said he gets just as much out of these speeches as he gives.
“It’s my therapy to talk about it,” he said. “It helps me internally to be able to get out there and get the message out that I’m okay.”
Stokes has one remaining surgery, which he hopes to have done next week. He returned to work on January 2 and hopes to be able to fly again by July.