I deceided to work in the LE field after graduating from college with a BS in Agricultural Economics a minor in Finace.
I always wanted to be a police officer, but never gave it any serious thought until I got out of college. 6 months after graduating college I got on as a Reserve Deputy and the first night out we were in a pursuit and it all ended with me power driving a guy into the trunk of a car, so something sort of clicked in me. I ended up working for the Department of Corrections and getting on the CERT team there and was pretty content there. I learned a lot with DOC and enjoyed the job, but still wanted to do police work.
One day the Chief of Police came to my house and asked me if I enjoyed working at DOC (he worked at DOC before the PD) then asked me if I was interested in working there, so I did.
Scariest moment for sure was: We were serving a drug warrant at a residence that had two buildings to search. One team hit the house and my team hit an out building in the back yard. It was a multi jurisdiction task force so I had a deputy with me. We entered the building and the bad guy ran to a back room so I start toward the bad guy and this deputy gets infront of me and goes into the side room first between me and the bad guy.
When we get in the back room the bad guy has a meth lab going and two flasks in his hands with liquid in them in a manner that seemed he was going to throw it at us. I was drawn down on the guy yelling for him to set the beakers down and telling the deputy to move at the same time. I saw it in the bad guys eyes he wasn't going to put them down.
I sighted in on his adams apple and started my trigger pull. I remember every thought going through my head, every thought. Even the reason I thought about his adam's apple. I saw bare flesh and thought I would snap his brain stem by shooting him there. Just as I was pulling and had commited that deputy stepped right in front of me!! I almost shot another officer!!
Guys this shook me up, but I kept in the game and yelled for the deputy to move, or shoot the Mother F____r. The bad guy saw something when this happened and he set the flasks on a table and went to his knees.
I sort of relaxed then the lights went off. A generator ran the building and the other team unplugged the cord. As soon as the lights went off I heard those flasks break. I turned on my flashlight and just then I saw the deputy inhale a big draw of smoke and he fell back down gagging and coughing. The smoke was coming up to my face and I held my breath and threw the deputy to the other officers and grabbed the maggot by his hair and drug him outside.
The scariest moment was when I saw that deputy inhale that and go down and knew I had to save him first then get me out of there. I did not know what he inhaled and I thought I was going to breath it too and die.
After I got home and went to bed that night the fact that I almost shot the deputy kicked in. I know it was not my fault, but how could you live with that?
Deputy was ok after about 3 months, it was muratic acid. Bad guy broke his arm, cut his head, bruised his tail bone on my bruised foot bone, and pulled out at least one hand full of shoulder length hair from my hand. I am glad someone got me off him before I went to jail.
Brushdog I've missed anniversaries, birthdays, reunions, holidays, meals with the family and a lot of sleep. I hope and pray that my daughter doesn't ever think about LE work or marrying a cop.
Guys Brushdog makes a profound statement there, One of the things I hated the most and honestly hurt me as bad as anything was when I had to lie to my daughter when she was in the 1st grade and tell her I saw her say her part at a school Christmas play. I got there just in time to see her walk off the stage.
Like Brushdog's wife some things happened around here and my wife started getting affraid when I was gone and all that. I worked hoots and evenings from 95-01
It is a calling and it is hard to explain. I quit full time work though a few years ago and went into business with my family. The Chief put me on as a reserve so I get to stay active.I still don't like being around many people that aren't cops.
Guys it is a calling, plain and simple and a part of me still wants to be there everyone of the long boring, routine hours and for everyone of the exciting few minutes.
Be Safe