Please tell us a little bit about how you came to work here at the Metro Transit Police Department.
I grew up in a small village in the Philippines that was about a three-day hike from the nearest road. When I graduated high school, I came back to the United States for college not really knowing what I wanted to do. I managed group homes for a while, working with teenagers with disabilities. Eventually I became a Ramsey County corrections officer, then became a deputy with that agency. I came to the Metro Transit Police Department in 2023.
What are some of the roles you’ve had here so far?
At first, I was in the patrol unit. While I was on patrol, I got injured so I spent some time on light duty. I worked in the Real Time Information Center for about a year and really enjoyed that. Then I worked as a train officer for about six months, and now I’m assigned to the Cedar/Franklin beat covering the area around the METRO Blue Line’s Cedar-Riverside and Franklin Avenue stations.
What do you like about being a Metro Transit police officer?
Unlike other agencies, we normally know what we’re getting into, because we have video everywhere. That makes it easy to be proactive, and to help our communities by stopping crimes before anyone even has a chance to call it in. I really enjoy that. And I really enjoy the organization as a whole. It’s a good culture. People here are generally encouraging and upbeat.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I like to do woodworking, go camping, and just be outside. I haven’t been doing it as much lately since I’ve been training new officers, but I love biking. Normally I’d be biking to work. I have about a 10-mile ride in from home, but I have an e-bike so I’m only doing half the work.