Please tell us a little bit about your career and how you came to work at the Metro Transit Police Department.
I became interested in policing when I was in college. After deploying back-and-forth to Iraq and Afghanistan, I settled in and set my sights on the Metro Transit Police Department, which at the time was led by Chief John Harrington who I wanted to work. It also helped that the department was growing and that there seemed to be a lot of great opportunities here.
What do you like about working at the Metro Transit Police Department?
When I came here, I liked the fact that this was a small but growing agency where people were open to looking at new and better ways to do things. This is very progressive department that is always looking to innovate and to use our resources to keep our customers happy.
You’re part of the newly relaunched police beats program. What do you like about this role?
Beat policing is really about familiarizing yourself with a very small geographic area and all the businesses, transit users, and other stakeholders who are in that area. My partner and I focus on downtown Minneapolis and if you look at it, it is really a small area. That allows us to move around on foot, on bicycles, in a patrol car, on the train, and on the bus. That is really the distinction between us and the regular patrol officers, who have a much larger area of responsibility and are answering calls on a pretty regular basis. By focusing on a smaller area, we get to know people and really focus on small but important quality of life issues.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I'm very, very fond of my dog, a Boston terrier named Bessie, and we go on a lot of walks. I also love camping and have a small trailer that I like to take to national or state parks whenever I get a chance. If I have time, I’ll go to northern Minnesota or all the way up to the Canadian border. There are also a lot of great parks not far from the Twin Cities that I enjoy.