If you asked me 13 years ago what career I would have chosen for myself, I would have never in a million years dreamed that I would be a police officer. Even though I grew up in a law enforcement family, I never had aspirations of working in law enforcement. I now know this job was what I was born to do. My law enforcement career began after my mother passed away when I was 19 years old. I needed a job.
I began working as a detention officer in the Oklahoma County Jail in 1996. This experience would prove to be an important stepping stone in my career, as it was the beginning of my journey in law enforcement, eventually leading me to apply to the Oklahoma City Police Department. The police academy was an important aspect of the application process and would eventually show me things about myself that I never knew. I left the academy a different person, a stronger person both mentally and physically.
Once I graduated the academy, I began the field training program. After I successfully completed the program, my first assignment was graveyard shift on patrol. Once I adjusted to my sleep schedule, I really enjoyed it. I worked the graveyard shift for about three years. Then I transferred to an undercover assignment for a 90-day rotation in the Impact Unit.
I am currently a Sergeant assigned to day shift patrol. I was chosen to become a Field Training Officer, and I’m excited that I have the opportunity to mentor new recruits and help them become responsible and productive officers of the Oklahoma City Police Department. I love the rewarding aspects of this career. Every day, I know that I have made a difference in someone’s life, even though he or she might not realize it at the time. This career is not what I dreamed of being when I was young, but this is what I was born to do. Every day I get up and put on my uniform, and I know I made the right decision.
Learn more about Oklahoma City Police Department at: http://www.okc.gov/okcpd/