Officers promise to 'protect and serve'

So there I was, staring at a huge crowd of police officers and family members supporting the Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy graduating class.

There were 102 law enforcers who graduated from the 144th session, and the Anniston City Meeting Center was filled to capacity with proud family members and fellow officers.

My eyes searched for a vacant seat among the crowd. Luckily, I found an empty seat next to a man who, when I asked if the seat was taken, smiled and assured me that it was empty.

I introduced myself and he told me his name was Gerald Baker of Gadsden. He had come to see his grandson graduate from the academy.

A piano tuner by trade, Mr. Baker was born with a disease that left him blind by early adulthood.

Undaunted, he married the love of his life, raised two daughters, attended a trade school, learned to tune pianos and has built a successful music company in Gadsden.

When I commented about how he had achieved so much despite the circumstances life had dealt him, he replied simply, “Well, all of us can do a little more, I think, when we try a little harder.”

He pointed out that some problems were visible, while others are not, but either way, we have to learn to make the best of it.

My thoughts immediately turned to the men and women who were pledging to protect and serve the everyday citizens like myself and Mr. Baker that day.
I thought this had to be the right attitude for a successful law enforcer to have – that all of us can do more when we try a little harder.

I was reminded of the situation that faced our police department just one year ago. Captains and CID investigators were donning their uniforms and hitting the streets because the department was short-staffed. Many officers were working long shifts. But even though there were fewer officers, the job still had to be done.

I thought about our undercover agents dealing with those problems you can’t always see, resulting in the arrest of multiple drug dealers or people conspiring to forge prescriptions.
My thanks goes out to Chief J.C. West for inviting me to come along to the commencement ceremony in Anniston, and I have to thank the officers who were kind enough to cart me around all day; it was well worth getting up before dawn to attend.

I enjoyed seeing all the officers gathering together, greeting old friends and comrades.

There was an equal amount of fresh faces in the crowd, young officers looking to join the ranks and become part of this community that is law enforcement in Alabama.

With so many law enforcement officers in one place, I’ve never felt safer.

It was a pleasure to see how the officers of our own Eufaula PD interacted with the new recruits. I could tell the veterans who traveled with us seemed genuinely interested in helping the younger guys learn everything about being a police officer.

It was also encouraging to hear the new Academy graduates and those preparing to go to Academy talk about their reasons for pledging to “protect and serve.”

There certainly seems to be more challenges than perks to being a police officer, but these men and women have decided to pledge the oath and take the plunge because being a law enforcement officer is what they have always wanted to do.

Any other citizen can pass by an accident on the roadside and pray everyone is OK. An officer is obligated to stop if no other law enforcement is present on the scene and make sure everyone is OK – not just because it’s policy, but because it’s the right thing to do.

Capt. Carl Wallace entertained me on the long drive to Anniston with a story about the first car he was assigned when he came to work at the EPD many years ago. His car might have been a source of fodder for the department jokesters, but that didn’t seem to deter him from being an officer.

And I am confident that there are other such men and women working to “protect and serve” Eufaula.