A Day in the Life of an Officer

My cousin came to ride a long with me one day. He was thinking about becoming a police officer. The day became one of those days. To begin with, we went to assist troopers with traffic control for a semi-truck broke down in the canyon. When we cleared and patrolled the freeway, we saw two motorcycles stopped just north of the I-70/I-15 junction. As we passed, they turned and went south in the northbound lanes, and turned onto I-70 (eastbound). I turned around to catch them. We never saw the motorcycles but called ahead to Richfield and advised them of what happened. I later learned officers stopped the motorcycles and arrested the occupants.

After returning to Beaver County, we stopped a vehicle northbound on I-15 near I-70.  The single male occupant ended up having drugs in his vehicle. I arrested him and booked him into the Beaver County Jail.

After patrolling for several more hours and writing several tickets, we headed south to Kanarraville (which is south of Cedar City).  Kanarraville had an outdoor concert/dance which allowed alcohol. We acted as security and patrolled the area after the concert/dance.  After the dance, we arrested an individual for DUI. The person arrested called a friend to pick up his vehicle. When the friend arrived, we arrested him for DUI. He had been at the dance and had made it home, but returned to help his buddy!!

While in the Kanarraville area, our dispatch center advised of a reckless driver. Several troopers tried to locate the vehicle but were unable. My cousin and I, after leaving the jail in Cedar City, received a report of an accident south of Beaver. I knew there was a construction zone in the area. One side of the freeway was closed, and traffic was on the northbound lanes with only orange barrels separating it. It was raining hard in the area. It was about 2 am. We ran Code 3 (lights and sirens) towards the accident. One thing I had learned, if dispatch does not receive updates about an accident, it is bad. As we approached, I knew I would need my cousin to help me. I told him what to do once we arrived at the scene. I could tell he wasn't sure he should help, but I assured him he could help.

We arrived, I saw a minivan facing southbound on the roadway with the entire front end destroyed. The other was off the east side of the freeway. I ran over to the minivan and realized the driver (and only passenger) was dead.  I yelled at my cousin, who was by my patrol vehicle, and told him to pick up the radio and tell dispatch "We have one 10-85 Echo!" He questioned me, and I told him to just do it.  I'm not sure what dispatch thought when they heard his traffic but he relayed the message. I went to the other vehicle and realized the driver of that vehicle (and only passenger) had also died in the accident. Another trooper, who had been in Kanarraville with us, arrived a short time later. The other trooper, after seeing both vehicles, told me one vehicle was the same one dispatch has broadcast as the reckless driver. Our investigation showed that vehicle had crossed through the construction barrels and hit the minivan head on. We determined it was due to extreme fatigue. We took several hours to investigate the accident and clean up the scene. We finished the shift and drove home.

My cousin, who is from Richfield, told me he was just going to drive home (it was now between 4 and 5 am). I told him to sleep on my couch and drive home in the morning. We were both dead tired. He told me he was ok to drive home. I told him one of the drivers thought the same thing. He slept on my couch. We talked for a few minutes about the shift and about being a police officer. I told him that our shift did not happen every shift, but the incidents were common to handle as an officer. If he didn't want to deal with any of those things, then don’t become an officer. He is not a police officer.

Every time I spoke with my cousin after that night, he talked about the fatal traffic accident.  Even today, he will bring it up. I learned the accident was the big reason he chose not to be an officer. He told me that night was something he hoped he never saw again.

To let you know how it affected me, the driver of the minivan was of oriental descent. For weeks, every time I saw someone of the same descent, I got sick. In fact, I was eating lunch at a fast-food restaurant when an oriental man walked into the restaurant. I didn’t know the person, but I walked out. My wife asked me what was wrong. I told her I saw the individual in the minivan and he could’ve been a loved one of the person in the restaurant.

I have never regretted being a police officer, but it takes a toll on you after seeing and dealing with the incidents we handle. You learn to deal with it but it never gets easy.

A Move South....to Beaver County!

After getting my "feet wet" in Millard County, Nicole and I accepted a transfer to Beaver County.  I was excited because it would put me south of I-70. Why was this important? I loved drug interdiction and I-15 to I-70 is a major corridor for drug trafficking. Being able to stop vehicles before the corridor was a big advantage.

They told us we could move as soon as we found a place to live. Rentals in Beaver were hard to find. We expected having to talk to people in Beaver to find a rental property. Nicole and I drove to Beaver to see what we could find.

Nicole and I drove through town looking for rental signs and apartment complexes.  We found a small trailer court on the south end of town and noticed a couple outside. We didn’t know it then, but we met great people who would become our landlords, the Horlacher's!!  They both retired from the State Prison and moved to Beaver. They owned a second trailer in the park, and it was coming available. We secured the rental and glad we did!!

Nicole got a job at Beaver Hospital and joined the ambulance team. We loved it!! In Beaver, there were 3 troopers, we supervised ourselves, and covered each other. We worked 8-hour shifts, but covered the county for 12 hours. If you were on day shift, you covered from 5 am to 5 pm and just the opposite on nights. Mornings would start early with a wake up call to go handle an accident.

I worked with the best trooper I ever met, Fred Swain. Fred and I bonded and called each other for help with an arrest on duty or not!

I met a great friend in Beaver, Craig Wright. I nicknamed him "Bif" and we are still friends today!  Bif was single then but now is married with 3 great kids and has been the mayor of Beaver!!  Our families spend time together every chance we can get.

In Beaver County, I patrolled 30 miles of Interstate and covered  the state road, west, to the state line. We had fewer accidents, but often they were devastating.  One particular accident I will never forget. Early in the morning, I responded to a single vehicle rollover near the I-70 junction. When I arrived, several citizen's stopped to give help to the driver. The citizen's were performing CPR. I updated the ambulance of the situation. I could tell that the driver would not make it and most likely was deceased. When the ambulance arrived, I asked them to remove him from the scene. I thanked all who stopped to help.

I learned the young man left California headed to his mom's house in Salt Lake City. The young man had fallen asleep, left the roadway, over-corrected, and rolled across the freeway, coming to rest in the center median. While the vehicle rolled, his head struck the pavement. The doctor told me the young man had broken major bones in his body and likely died on impact. This was a devastating accident. I learned a dog was in the vehicle. Citizens tried to secure the dog, but it ran off into a nearby field. I could not locate it.

The next day, Dispatch advised me the father of the young man was at the scene. I met the father and another son at the scene who had travelled from Colorado, to answer questions about what happened. I wept with the father as we looked at the accident marks and I told him the cause of the accident. They asked me about the dog. They could not find it. The father told me because they did not have the money to pay to transported his deceased son back to Colorado, he would transport him back to Colorado. I thought how awful the drive back would be with his deceased son.  

This accident reminded me life is precious. Accidents like this have made it impossible for me to sleep in a moving vehicle!

Arguing with God!!

We lived in two houses in Fillmore. We didn’t have a lot of money so we often played cards or other games to entertain ourselves. At the second house, we had a small garage on the house where we placed a makeshift basketball hoop. It was at 8 feet so playing on it felt like a real NBA player! Neighborhood boys would come to play basketball until late into the night. I learned it didn’t take money to for entertainment nor to meet the neighbors!

One night, Nicole panicked after we went to bed. With the house having only Nicole and I in it, I would place my gun on the top shelf of the closet. My wife and I were talking in bed, she became terrified. I tried to figure out what was going on as she pointed towards the closet. She said, “there’s a giant mouse in the closet!” I did not see or hear anything.  She pointed to the top shelf and said she could see red eyes. I laughed as I pulled the gun from the closet. The rear sights glow in the dark. The sights appeared to be glowing eyes, but it wasn’t a “radioactive” rodent. We got a fantastic laugh out of it!

Nicole grew up wanting to do one thing as a career and one thing only. I had met no one who was so determined to reach it. Nicole knew she would be a nurse. She took classes in high school preparing her to become a nurse. She became a CNA, EMT, and was on a list for the nursing program at UVSC (which is now UVU). Our plan when accepted to the nursing program was for her to go. In the meantime, Nicole could get a job at the hospital in Fillmore and ride on the ambulance in Fillmore.

Working in a small town hospital means being involved in tragic moments of your neighbor’s lives. A lady in town had a baby with several medical problems and Nicole took care of the baby and grew close to both mom and the baby. One day, we loaded up our truck with plans for a weekend away. Just before leaving, the ambulance pager went off for the address of small baby. She completed her time on call but told me to go to the ambulance shed because she was going on this call. Though I protested, Nicole told me I did not have a choice, so I took her to the shed. She left on the ambulance and I drove over to the hospital to pick her up. I watched the doctors and nurses preparing for the ambulance to arrive and knew something bad had happened. Nicole came in and was crying. We got in the truck to leave in silence. Nicole was upset. She then began yell at God asking why something like this would happen to a baby and this family. She yelled it was not fair and was mad at God. Nicole and I discussed God. Though the incident was tragic, Nicole and I grew closer together over the incident. When we mention her arguing with God, we go back to that moment.

A Sheepherder, Good Samaritan, and a Semi.

I handled my share of bad traffic accidents over the years. A lot of those accidents occurred on the interstate meaning many involve high speeds. I learned what a vehicle could handle when hitting another object, what happens when a vehicle rolls on dirt opposed to rolling on asphalt, and what saves people in high speed accidents.  

One of those accidents involved a sheepherder, a good Samaritan, and a semi-truck. I responded to an accident on Scipio Summit on I-15. I found a semi-truck off the side of the road, a truck off the side of the road, a vehicle stopped in the emergency lane with a broken rear window, and sheep running all over the freeway. It was winter and there were several inches of snow on the shoulder of the interstate.

I positioned my vehicle to secure the scene. As I moved towards the vehicle when I heard a gunshot. I turned to see another trooper “putting down” the injured sheep running on the interstate. They herded the uninjured sheep off the interstate.

I continued to the front of the semi-truck. It was off the side of the freeway and the damaged truck was in front. I found a man was under the damaged pickup truck and buried in the snow. It took over an hour to secure the injured person and load him into the ambulance to get him to the hospital.  It took hours to clean up the scene.

The injured man was an older sheepherder from Sevier County. He had his pickup, and a trailer loaded with sheep and was taking them south to sell. He was driving up Scipio Summit, a steep grade, when another driver motioned him to pull over. This “Good Samaritan” noticed the trailer tires were on fire. The sheepherder pulled over and the Good Samaritan stopped in front of him. He exited his vehicle and walked up to the Good Samaritan.  

The sheepherder talked to “Good Samaritan” and started back to his vehicle. As the sheepherder was walking back, he noticed a semi-truck headed towards his vehicle in the emergency lane. He tried to run onto the shoulder away from his vehicle. The semi-truck hit the trailer which pushed the truck forward into the Good Samaritan’s vehicle. The sheepherder’s vehicle struck him and burying him in the snow under the truck. The impact to the Good Samaritan’s vehicle caused the driver’s head to hit the rear window shattering it.

The sheepherder was talking to rescuers and was not complaining of any pain. Because of the impact of the accident, the rescuers treated the injured man for the worst injuries. Upon arriving at the hospital, the injured man’s body temperature was just above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. As he warmed up, the injured man screamed in pain. The man, in his 70’s, had a broken hip. He went through months of rehab following the accident. He was lucky to survive.

The accident assured me good people in the world are willing to help others. From the Good Samaritan, those who stopped to assist, those who rounded up the sheep. Even a moment of distraction can change the life of others and your own. Distraction caused the semi driver to drive into the emergency lane. The truck driver lost his job and faced a civil lawsuit filed following the accident. Every time I drive south passed the location, I think about that accident!!

A Decision That Will Change My Career!

Working in Fillmore was interesting. There were 4 troopers plus a Sergeant assigned to Millard County. Most of the time, I was on duty by myself unless the trooper in Delta was on duty, and that was on day shift. Millard County has 60 miles of Interstate and over 100 miles of 2 lane state roads. Often I was 15 to 30 minutes from Fillmore when patrolling the interstate and hours away depending on where I was on the 2 lane roads. I remember going to accidents west of Delta. I would run lights and sirens to Delta, stop at the gas station and fill up with gas, and then continue to the accident. Often I would hope I could make it back without running out of gas. We joked there should be a “same day” rule for responding out west.

Being by yourself while making traffic stops and investigating other calls can become routine but danger can happen at any moment. Because backup can be so far away, I learned how to treat people to keep myself safe and adopted practices that would keep me safe.

Most people, and myself when I first worked for the UHP, think troopers write tickets and investigate traffic accidents. I found writing tickets was fine, but making criminal arrests was more fulfilling. To make criminal arrests, I stopped cars and paid attention to “indicators” of criminal activity. This lead to many criminal arrests with most being drug arrests. Making arrests meant going to court. One court experience caused me to make an important decision regarding the officer I would become.

One of my early drug arrests ended up in court. My first appearance was for a suppression hearing. In the hearing, I give testimony related to how the incident leading to legal arguments to determine what testimony is accepted. I was inexperienced with testifying in court, and got raked over the coals by the defense attorney. I left the courtroom feeling defeated and at that moment, I had to decide if I would take the easy road or “suck it up” and learn and grow as an officer.  I could just write speeding tickets and investigate accidents, or I could learn how to build cases and testify in court. I decided I was going to “suck it up”! I then found my passion for arresting criminals and making sure the cases were strong. This decision laid the foundation for the rest of my career.

Another learning experience I had because of working often by myself was to trust my instincts and that “inner voice” that warned me! I decided that no arrests was worth not coming home to my wife and family and that if my instincts or “inner voice” gave me a warning, I would listen to it, regardless. One instance where this occurred is when I stopped 3 vehicles for a traffic offense who were all travelling together. Each vehicle has several individuals including males and females and I talked to each driver and got the normal information from each. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and I was planning on issuing citations. As I started back towards my vehicle, I heard a distinct voice say “It’s not worth it!”  I walked a few more steps and heard the voice again say, “It’s not worth it!” I turned around, handed back their information and told them to have a nice day. I went back to my vehicle, the cars left, and I continued patrolling Millard County. To this day I do not understand why I heard the voice but I believe that listening to it protected me and is the reason I am writing this blog and enjoying my wife Nicole and my four beautiful daughters!!

The Start of the Greatest Career!

After accepting the job with UHP and being assigned to Millard County, specifically Fillmore, my wife and I decided to drive down and see about housing.  My wife, Nicole, had grown up in Utah County and lived her teenage years in Orem.  After getting off the freeway at the exit, we drove down Main St and after a few blocks came to the end of town.  Nicole looked at me and said, “Is that it?”  I told her that the town went a few blocks in each direction but that was about it.  She was in a bit of a culture shock.  We were able to meet a Millard Co Sheriff’s Deputy who gave us directions to the house of one of the troopers.  We were able to meet them and they were later able to assist us in getting a place to stay.  Before leaving, I ended up locking the keys in my truck and had to call a deputy to come unlock my truck.  What a way to introduce myself!

The house ended up being right on Main St.  What Nicole and I didn’t know is at that time there was no natural gas connections in Fillmore.  Houses were heated by oil, propane, or a wood burning stove.  Nicole and I didn’t have a lot of money and in order to get the oil you had to get a minimum of $100 of oil. We scraped up the money and were able to fill the tank.  

We later put a wood burning stove in the house to heat the home.  With not a lot of money, Nicole and I spent a lot of time playing cards and other games to pass the time.  This was a good thing for us.  We had just gotten married, moved to Fillmore, and were literally on our own.  This allowed us to truly grow closer together and build a foundation that has allowed us to remain together for over 20 years!

Living on Main St and having a UHP vehicle in the driveway made us the “information center” for those who were passing through town or lost.  Many times people knocked on our door asking us for information.  Unfortunately for them, we were new in town and often had no idea what the answer to the questions were that those who stopped by were asking!!

After being trained to work on the road by the troopers and getting on my own, I found police work exciting.  I had truly found the job that made me happy.  I decided that writing tickets was alright but arresting those who posed a real threat to the others was the real draw.  Stopping those who were impaired and those who trafficked large quantities of narcotics was very rewarding.  I would hear officers in Beaver County and Juab County making large drug arrests and knew they had to be driving through Millard County.  The troopers I was working with had not had a large seizure in a very long time.  I remember stopping a vehicle that had several ounces of marijuana in it.  It was not a large seizure but was the largest in Millard County for a long time. I remember sitting in the office talking with other officers when my Sergeant walked in.  I was still on probation and thought he was coming to congratulate me.  Instead he threw page with my statistics on them on my desk, told me I needed to write more tickets, and then walked out never saying anything about the arrest.  I was very confused.  I could tell he was serious and talking to him was not going to change anything.

A short time later a trooper I went through POST with, Joey Brumett, was killed on I-15 in Salt Lake County.  I was shocked by the report.  I had spent several weeks while in POST training with Joey and felt I had gotten to know him pretty well.  When I was hired by the UHP, Joey called me and congratulated me.  I was sick to my stomach and knew I would be attending the funeral.

 My Lieutenant (Lt), Bob Flowers, was at the funeral.  We had met before but had never really talked for any length of time.  I immediately felt very comfortable with Lt Flowers.  I joked with him at that time about going skiing.  A short time later, Lt Flowers called me and arranged for us to go to Brian Head to go skiing.  While there, I shared my experience about my Sergeant and telling me I needed to write more tickets.  Lt Flowers told me that I was doing a fine job and that I didn’t need to worry about how many tickets I was writing unless he told me I needed to write more tickets.  I knew at that moment that Lt Flowers had my back.  Because he had my back, I was going to do everything I could to keep his trust with me.  Even today, Lt Flowers (I believe he is a Chief at a department in Southern Utah) is someone who I still respect and give credit for the success of my career!

They say if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.  That has been true for me and my choice to become a police officer.  I have never, in over 20 years, work up and hated the idea of having to go to work.  I have had stress, ups and downs, but I have never had to “drag myself” into work.  I truly picked the greatest career for me!

So what does it take?

I am often asked what it takes to be an officer. In my case, I was lucky Nicole knew someone who could tell her what we needed to do to get me into POST (Peace Officer Standard and Training). I learned early getting hired at a police department often isn't about what you know but who you know.  After starting POST, I networked with the instructors, many of which were current officers, so I could use those relationships to assist me with openings and interviews. I talked to as many current officers as I could and learned all it took to get hired.

The Utah Highway Patrol (UHP), for instance, wants to find  individuals with integrity and a clean background. Their philosophy, hire outstanding people and train them to be great officers. The Highway Patrol believes they can take the right person and turn them into a police officer.

A deeper question to ask is, how does one become a great officer? First, develop common sense. Police work is all about common sense. Movies and TV shows portray solving a crime takes finding a secret piece of evidence or processing hair samples for DNA. But solving crimes often results from following the evidence along the path the makes sense. Next, one needs good communication skills. I often tell my wife, Nicole,  when I respond to calls often it’s about resolving a dispute not enforcing the law. Being able and willing to talk to people and assist them coming to a sensible resolution takes patience and the ability to persuade people to see the solution. Often you start by having to calm them down before being able to resolve the situation. Finally, it also takes courage. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Courage is not the absence of fear but a willingness to face the fear.” Officers walk into situations not knowing what may await them. Officers get into the profession because they have the desire to help those who otherwise can't help (or protect) themselves.  There is an element of our society that have no problem doing whatever it takes to get what they want. Being willing to stand up to that element takes courage!

But, the most important quality of a great police officer? Integrity! Nothing will prevent someone from getting hired or ruin a career faster than a lack of integrity.

To summarize, greatness takes a willingness to put yourself in harms way, having integrity and earning the public’s trust, using common sense, and the ability to communicate with people.

Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” This has been true for me. There may have stress along with difficulties, but I have never had to “drag myself” into work. I have never worked a day being a police officer.

The beginning....

As I was growing up, I had several thoughts about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I never settled on a career idea which allowed me to explore what I liked to do. I knew I did not need to be rich, but I wanted to take care of my family. While going to college, I met a girl whose father was a police officer. The way she spoke of him impressed me. I never met him but I realize that how she talked about him had a profound impact on my later decision to be a police officer. In addition, I had met several officers growing up. I noticed they commanded respect, set an example for the community, and exhibited integrity. Watching officers and how they handled themselves also impacted my career decision.

Before serving an LDS mission, I walked into the Utah Highway Patrol Office on the northeast corner of 800 North 1200 West in Orem. I spoke with the secretary about wanting to talk to an officer about becoming a trooper. Sgt. Moon was in the office and agreed to answer questions. I sat down with Sgt Moon and told him I was interested in becoming a trooper and asked him if he could tell me about the job and what I could do to prepare myself.  Sgt. Moon then went on a rant about being a trooper! He told me that being a trooper was not a job you could do to get through college but it was a career. He then asked why anyone would want a career that entails dealing with the bad people, seeing horrific car accidents, and scraping brains of the interstate!  Sgt. Moon painted the most bleak picture of being a trooper.  

While on my LDS mission, I met people who worked in all different careers and spoke often with them about the good and bad of their careers. I served in Columbia, MO (home of the University of Missouri) and thought about returning there after my mission to pursue a medical career. After getting home from my mission, I still hadn’t decided what I would do. I had decided I wanted to do something that involved communicating with people and not sitting in a office all day. I enrolled in BYU and selected a major in Communications.  

As luck would have it, I met my wife, Nicole. Nicole asked me why I was going to BYU and if I was firm in my major. I told her no and thought about being a police officer.  Nicole suggested I save money by going to UVSC (now known as UVU) and complete my general courses at a cheaper price. I had already signed up for classes, bought books, and secured funding at BYU but I listened to Nicole and dropped out of BYU and enrolled in classes at UVSC.

What I didn’t know is Nicole had a good friend she had known growing up that was an officer.  She had called him and asked him about what I needed to do to be an officer. After speaking to him, she called Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and secured me a spot in the next session.  After telling me what she did, I dropped my classes at UVSC and saved money to attend POST. POST would be a full time job and with its schedule I could not work during the training. Because I was not “sponsored” by a department, I would not get paid during the training.  I saved up money, paid my tuition, and bought the gear I would need for the training. In March 1992, I started my training and graduated in June 1992.

Because I had not secured a job before training, I looked for a job.  I applied for every job opening I found in the state, and sent my resume to every agency in Utah County.  Being from Pleasant Grove, I wanted a job there. I got a job as a reserve officer at Pleasant Grove PD, however it was volunteer and was not a paying job.

I received an invitation to take part in the hiring process for the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). When I showed up for the initial testing for the UHP, I stood in a line with over 1000 people. Listening to them talk, I noticed several had experience as officers. My thought was I had little chance of getting a job. I made it through the initial testing with only 100 applicants remaining. There was 10 current openings with the Patrol so it was a long shot to get one of those positions.  

After going through the process, UHP sent me a letter that said I was 11th on the list. The letter said they filled the 10 openings but they would consider me for other openings that may come in the next year. About a week later, I received a phone call from a secretary at UHP.  She told me there had been changes and there was an opening for me if I would go to Fillmore. I did not understand where Fillmore was and so I asked her. She told me it was by Richfield. My cousin was from Richfield! I had spend a lot of time in Richfield and loved it there. I told her I needed to speak to Nicole but would call her back to confirm. After hanging up the phone, I told my co-workers about the call and asked if anyone had been to Fillmore, Utah. My boss got out a map and showed me. It was nowhere near Richfield!! Yes it was in the central part of the state but it was along I-15 and a large mountain separated Richfield from Fillmore! I called Nicole and we agreed I would take the job. I would now be a trooper!!

The process was challenging and competitive. I learned that putting my best foot forward and working hard helped me reach my career goal. After being hired by the Utah Highway Patrol and again meeting Sgt. Moon, I would laugh inside knowing what he told me. Now I would see if police work was what he described.