How long have you been part of the Metro Transit Police Department?
It will be two years in January. Back in high school, I wanted to serve so I enlisted in the Marines. I never ended up in the Marines, so I went to college and picked the profession that I thought would be the most fun. I started out at South Lake Minnetonka Police Department as a reserve, then I went out to the San Diego PD, worked out there for a few months, came back here, went back to South Lake Minnetonka. I left law enforcement for a few years before coming back and starting here.
What do you like about working for the Metro Transit Police Department?
I like the people. I also like the changes of scenery. Obviously, we cover a lot of ground. We do a lot of work downtown in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, but you get outside of the cities and into the suburbs, like Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Roseville, all that jazz. I like getting to meet and work with officers from other departments. In this job, you're going to meet them quite a few times or a handful of times on calls.
Can you tell us what it’s like to be a beat officer for the Metro Transit Police Department?
I’m on the downtown Minneapolis beat. So obviously, we stick to the downtown area. A benefit of that is you get to know everybody. You get to know who the chronic offenders are, where they like to hang out, which means you can respond quickly when they commit a crime.
What do you like to do outside work?
I just do CrossFit. I converted my garage into a gym because I didn't want to pay the gym fee anymore. I was a junior Olympic gymnast when I was younger, and later I was a gymnastics coach. I competed in all the men's events and went to national and international competitions. I did fine – I placed a few times at those bigger competitions, so that was cool.
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