Personal Narrative: The Burnet Police Explorers

for possession of stolen vehicle and they would be arriving in the area to take

On August 4, 2017 at approximately 2:40pm, Officer Lucas Griffin and I, Officer Kyeishia Evans, with the Ville Platte Police Department, was dispatched to 902 West Lincoln Street, Ville Platte, Louisiana, in reference to a business alarm. Upon arrival I witnessed a maroon 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe bearing license plate number ZTC679. I checked the vehicle and it was locked; however, I noticed the car was warm, as if the car had just been parked in the parking lot. I also noticed the back door of the business was opened. Officer Griffin and I checked the inside of the room; however, there was no door in the back room where you could enter the business. While checking the inside of the room we noticed damage to the tiles on the ceiling. I advised

“The Sheriff´s office has issued a mandatory evacuation order for your area.” A phone call like that will get you out of bed in a hurry, and it’s something you don’t get used too. I grew up in Ramona, California, a small rural town with not much to offer. Mountains, farm animals, hillbillies and fires… all a part of Ramona.

“We have identified the body of Pamela Zimmerman, and we suspect there is foul play. The Bloomington-Normal Police Department is doing everything they can: I am sorry.” These words from a police officer are permanently etched into my head. Those simple fifteen words play on repeat throughout my head a multitude of times throughout the day, sometimes never leaving my head. As the wise holocaust survivor Viktor E Frankl once said, “When we are no longer able to change a situation- we are challenged to change ourselves.” I woke up on November Fourth, 2015 thinking it was going to just be a normal day; little did I know that I was about to be hit with news that would change my life forever.

On 11/21/2016, I, William Van Scoter, was working as a police officer for the Wichita State University Police Department, in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. I had the North Wichita Police Department (WPD) on my car radio and they were looking for a black male wearing all black clothes with red shoes. The black male was wanted for a domestic violence incident. I heard over the radio that WPD requested Officer Gable #152 to help locate the individual.

My full name is Samantha Taylor Miller, I am a criminal justice major. I am from Little Falls, New York. I currently live in North Hall with my roommate, who is also my close friend from high school. Although Little Falls is only about thirty minutes from UC, I am glad I chose to live on campus because I have met so many new people as a result of living in the resident's hall.

On February 24, 2017, I responded to 2809 W Royal Oaks Drive in reference to an intoxicated subject. Beaufort County Dispatch advised me a male was intoxicated attempting to drive a vehicle. I arrived in the area and observed a gray 2014 Chev Camero, bearing a South Carolina license plate; MMJ124 parked in the roadway. The individual was standing behind the vehicle, and appeared to be unstable by not keeping his balance while standing.

On 06-09-2016 at 1103 hours I was contacted at the front desk of the Police Department in reference to stealing.

I attend John Jay College of Criminal Justice not only to further my education, but also to take care of my family. My mother passed away when I was only six years old; however, I have a brother, two sisters, a grandmother who knows what struggle is, and a father who cannot find the words to define his love for my mother. At no point she was hesitant about being a mother to her four young grandkids. I always knew she was an important part of my childhood, but I had never truly understood how she influenced me until a much older age.

I will not stop until I make the world a safer and better place. Maybe it'll be done by me being a prosecutor and help bring justice to the families who have been hurt. Maybe I’ll be a police officer and work my way up to a detective, or maybe I’ll even be a forensic psychologist and testify in court for the prosecution. It’s obvious I don’t know exactly how I’ll protect my people and make the world safer, but I am determined to do so; I will not give up on making my dreams a reality.

I used to think a police station was open and civilians walked in and got a glimpse of the offices and the officers doing their thing. When I went to the Missouri City Police Department There were locked doors and a clerk sitting behind a Plexiglas window. The premise was very secure. I met with Lieutenant Russell Terry, who was in charge of the ride along program, and finished signing waivers. Then I was assigned to Officer Gloria Villarreal.

Our police started out as a part of the British law enforcement system, which was used to control convicts. Police used to operate under British law, however as our country evolved and through events such as the gold rush, the police force had to change to accommodate for the changed in the country. Since the Queensland Police Force began operating under its own legislation on January 1, 1864, with only 143 employees, much has changed to bring us the police force we have now. Not only have the advances in technology increased the ability that police officers have to keep us safe, but also the many changes in the views of our society have created a diverse police force. The police play an integral role

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a police officer. I’m sure, as a little boy, what first caught my attention were the flashing lights and sirens on the police cars. It could have also been then the facts that police officer were permitted to carry a gun and had the ability to run red lights. This is why as I grew up and played games like cops and robbers, I was always the police officer. During my teenage years, I later joined the police explorer program and really started to learn about police work. That’s when I

Growing up I frequently watched a lot of crime scene TV-shows that involved people to do lab work to figure out who the killer or suspect was. These TV-shows influenced me to persue my dream of working in a lab. One day I drove up to the Mesa Police Department feeling nervous because I’ve never been there and never actually talked to a police officer. I thought that the Forensics Department was a part of the same building, but I was wrong. I had walked up to talk to the professionally dressed blonde lady that was sitting behind a bulletproof glass. I asked her where the Forensics Department was and she told me that the Forensics Department is a separate building around the corner. I drove around to the correct building and saw sign by the sidewalk that lead to a small parking lot that clearly stated, “Forensic Department Visitors Parking Only”. The tan building stood tall with windows covering the front, with

Being a police officer is not easy. Being an officer of the law comes with a certain amount of responsibility and there are a certain amount of requirements that are asked of every officer from an everyday beat cop to the chief of police. Being an officer means that your moral compass has to be better than the average person’s. You can’t give in to your vices and your emotions and with the amount of discretion officers have it’s hard to always do the right thing and make the hard calls and that’s what officers are asked to do every day. Being an officer means that you see scenes and respond to calls the average civilian will never experience a day in their lives. Crime scenes often aren’t pleasant to be around and depending on the crime they can be downright gruesome to witness. Being a police officer means you’ll see those kinds of things not once but all the time and eventually that has to wear down one’s mental health and sanity. Being an officer means that you are one of the most scrutinized people in the world. Everything you do is under a microscope and everything you say can and will be used against you in the court of public opinion. Constantly being under such pressure to not mess up and to always make the right calls, to be the face of the government on a local level and bear the brunt of public opinion good or bad, to see far too often a grisly crime scene and have to deal with the psychological damage this causes; Police are placed under an unreal amount of