Departing the Air of Informality

Please welcome Recruit Tyler. He is from Ft. Collins, and recently joined the Lakewood Police Department as a recruit.

 

The corporate world of consulting can be fast-paced and hectic. There is always an urgent proposal, a contract that needed to be signed yesterday, and a regulator demanding your immediate attention. However, this may not be apparent when walking into the office most days. Half the staff may be missing because they are out to lunch with a client or telecommuting from home. The other half at the office may be dressed down to jeans and polo shirts most days of the week.

 

There is also an air of informality among all levels of authority. Employees typically engage in conversation without using titles. For example, most workers could get on the phone with an executive member of the company and converse on a first-name basis. This isn't a description of all corporate cultures, but it is the collegial environment from which I came into law enforcement

 

My professional background consists of working for in-house legal departments, supporting professionals within architecture, engineering, and medicine. Did I have any idea of what to expect of a police academy? No! The anxiety made it difficult to sleep before that first week. How do I polish boots? How do I properly press a dress shirt? Thankfully, there are forty-seven fellow recruits to ask. So I set out to make a number of purchases for the first time: boots, polish, and, yes, an ironing board.

 

The first attempt at polishing boots was rather disappointing. I thought I had purchased a glossy polish but the can might better have read "Lusterless Barn Boot.” With the help of several YouTube videos and a hairdryer on the fritz, the toes finally started to shine. My appearance was still far from satisfactory. While standing in morning lineup, my tie was pointed out as being "all goofed up." The fat knot of the corporate world was apparently not acceptable to a cast of instructors prone to uniformity – hence, the uniforms. That night I revisited YouTube to learn to fashion an appropriate tie for law enforcement. My tie didn't look too bad except the little indent was mediocre, according to the keen eye of Jefferson County Sergeant Swavely.

           

The cultural symbolism of law enforcement was closing in on me. What would I miss next? Of course, titles. I inadvertently reverted to that first-name basis style of communication and failed to recognize a title. I needed to speak with academy staff and said I was here for Beers. No, I did not have a six pack in hand. I intended to speak with my training instructor, Lakewood Police Agent Beers. This error resulted in subjecting the class to our first disciplinary run to ensure a light pole 200 yards away was still there. We were subsequently able to report that the light pole was exactly where it had been the day before.  

Symbols, hierarchy, and discipline: together these function to develop a common discourse among recruits and academy staff. Such a discourse develops good law enforcement professionals who serve and protect as called upon. We are becoming “Agents,” men and women considered highly crucial by the community, including the marginalized, people experiencing the worst day of their lives, and all walks of life. Maybe, as one of our instructors pointed out, we might even be police agents as viewed from the eyes of a child. By chance, my daughter had drawn a picture of me as a police agent the previous week. It is pictures like that which make me grateful to be in the academy; to become a police agent with the Lakewood Police Department.

The Journey West

Please welcome Recruit Louis. He is a "Lateral" police recruit, which means he worked a minimum of three years for another police department - this one fairly big and well known. Additional requirements are placed on laterals, including the expectation that they arrive already exhibiting the high standards expected of a Lakewood Agent.

I remember it clearly. The hard stares, the loud shouts of “Walk faster! No Talking! Sit down! Don’t move!” I sat in an ill-fitting suit, surrounded by nearly 800 others who were nervous, just like I was. “Sign here, and here, and here, and here,” they said, as I flipped the pages and inscribed a signature over and over again. Don’t move now, stay awake, sit up straight; don’t think about the itchy tie and dress shirt around your neck – this runs over and over in my mind. We were informed by staff that one among us refused to come back after lunch on that very first day. One had already quit, couldn’t handle the pressure. This was my first experience at the Academy of the New York City Police Department.

My name is Recruit Louis, and I am one of three lateral hires for the Lakewood Police Department. Prior to this I was a Patrol Officer for the NYPD. I was assigned to a precinct in Harlem, one of the more crime ridden areas of New York City, as a part of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly’s statically-driven “Operation: Impact.” It was an incredible experience. Learning to “swim” there was like being thrown into the deep end of a wave pool during a thunderstorm. It was a hard lesson and I learned fast because I had to. I ran, I fought ‘bad guys’, I made arrests, I did paperwork, and I drank a lot of coffee (large, with milk and a shot of espresso for good measure). I made plans for my days off only to be told, on my “Friday”, that I would be working 16 hours or more on my days off. A protest started involving thousands of people who were taking over the streets. It looked like a full stadium was leaving a Bronco’s game all at once, but it was angry. They were shouting and screaming against the police. This went on for weeks.  I missed my first Christmas with my new wife.

 It was a huge culture shock to someone like me who didn’t grow up in a city and who, before working for the NYPD, spent the previous 7 years as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service. Most recently I worked for the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado (where I fell in love with this state and met an amazing Colorado native woman, who is now my wife).

The NYPD was a lot of fun…at times. I made good friends and saw amazing and interesting things. I was PAID TIME AND A HALF to ring in the New Year in Time Square. However, I started to miss something--Nature. I had traded sunset vistas from the tops of mountains for sunrise views from the roofs of projects. I missed seeing the stars at night. I missed hearing the swish of a fresh breeze in the grass. I missed trees not surrounded by concrete. After a lot of soul searching and conversations with my wife, I decided to start my search for a new department. I resolved, as so many had done before me; to “go west young man.” I sought a department that respected and valued its officers. I would find an organization where there is respect both given to, and received from, the public.

·         “Going to the mountains is going home.” – John Muir

“I would like to offer you a conditional offer with Lakewood Police department. We have a certain culture here and we hope you will fit.” Almost a year after going through the selection process I actually heard the words I never thought would come. I was offered one of the very few openings available. I packed the car and my wife and I started the drive across the country. In the rear view mirror, the lights of “the City” faded. Ahead of us was nearly 2,000 miles of interstate, leading to the base of the Rockies.

“Welcome to Lakewood.” I was greeted my first day with an outstretched hand. “I’ll show you around our little shop.” Yes, I will fit in here just fine.

Touring Lakewood’s Police Department and the main headquarters’ offices, I was greeted time and again with a smile, a handshake and a genuine welcome. My time so far in the Academy has been wonderful. The staff goes above and beyond for the Recruits. Help is always given, if needed. It is still a Police Academy. “Motivation” here is provided, at times, through some sort of physical activity. The demand for professionalism and respect is continuously taught and reinforced. We are expected to hold ourselves to a high standard regardless of if the staff is present or if their backs are turned. The Academy Staff seem to be more like leaders and mentors than drill sergeants. They focus on respect, family, and community. I am starting to understand “the Lakewood culture” and I feel aligned with it. It is motivated by the desire to improve the community. The integrity of the individuals who work for the Police Department, the Academy, and the City of Lakewood is the foundation.

I know I’m going to miss a few more holidays. There will be short notice overtime; there will be extra shifts that nobody else wants and very cold foot posts keeping a crime scene secure. I’m a rookie here, its part of the deal.  Most importantly, the sunrise will always shine on the mountains.

I am excited to work with you and for you. I found my place. I found my home. Thank you to the whole Lakewood Family, I will do my best to make you proud.