Hunting Men

Introduction

I have been out of law enforcement for 10 years I thought it was time for my family and civilian friends to know what I did for a living. My wife did not know much more than an outsider, because I wanted to isolate my family from the world I worked in. I tried never to bring the job home, if I had to vent I vented to other cops or a couple of very close friends. She did know the dangers were real and I know she worried constantly.

Near the end of my career a SWAT commander had a good idea we brought the families in for a week of training. It gave the families some piece of mind knowing we were constantly training and preparing for the worst. During one phase of training the counter-snipers snuck up to within a few yards of our families who were in stadium seat. It seems like a small thing, but it made them realize we were good at what we did. She told someone just the other day how I had snuck up on them at a training exercise, so I know it made an impression. There were those times when I was involved in a shooting or a partner was killed and she did not know if I was safe or not, for those times I am truly sorry.

I will take you on my journey through 28 years of law enforcement experiences that shaped my life and career. I was a tough athletic kid who grew up in Eastern Oregon. The worst thing I did growing up was get into fights. I was an Eagle Scout, I enjoyed the outdoors. I wrestled in High School, I was recruited to wrestle at the University of Oregon and I wrestled on the All Marine Team.

I rode dirt bikes and was continually avoiding the Oregon State Police in our area. I outran most of my pursuers on my dirt bike, but was stopped several times in the family car. The few tickets I got were deserved and I was warned most of the time. The professional demeanor of the Oregon State Police impressed me and I decided that before I left High School I wanted to be a Trooper.

In 1974 I got married and we moved to Eugene where I was working as an armed security officer at Lumber Mills and Constructions Companies while going to college. This was the first time I had someone shooting near me out of anger. A lumber mill had lain off employees during the recession and people were angry. As I was making my rounds of a lumber mill, a pickup pulled in and started shooting into the area where I was standing. I could hear the bullets as they passed by, it was exciting for a 20 year old.

Within a month of the shooting incident the security company I was working for lost several contracts and I lost my job. That day I went to the Oregon State Police office to ask what I could do to assure I would get hired when I turned 21 I was told to join the Marine Corps. I went to the recruiter took the test and joined the Marine Corps that day, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

After getting out of the Marine Corps I assumed I was going to the Oregon State Police Academy right away. I drove directly from Camp Pendleton to Salem Oregon and was told I would not be in the upcoming class, but I would be hired in the fall. There was no reason given, I later found out that they were running their first class of women recruits I believed they were the Gemini class. I will not elaborate on the success of that program.

I was very disappointed since I had a new baby boy and a daughter on the way. After lying about my qualifications and using my veteran’s preference points I was hired by the Forest Service as a Sawyer and part time cat operator.

When I left the Marine Corps as a Corporal I was making $350 a month. The State Police was starting me out at $700 a month and due to the early out program the military was kicking in $150 a month until I got off recruit status, I thought I was rich.

I started out as every young Police Officer does. I am sure the reasons to go into law enforcement varied. I have no idea why the rest of my brothers in law enforcement wanted to be a Police Officer but I hated bad guys. I had no misconception that I was doing the public good, I just wanted to arrest bad guys. Through my career I learned that not all the people I arrested were bad people some were people who made bad decisions. Don’t misunderstand I did arrested some very bad people too.

Before I go any farther I need to thank the Oregon State Police for allowing me to be part of a great organization. I would never have had the opportunities I had in my career without the Department’s trust in me. I will make some observations along the way that may seem like I am bashing the Oregon State Police, nothing could be farther from the truth.

You can go into any organization and find idiots either working with you or in charge at some level. If I mention an incident where one of those idiots did or said something stupid there are a hundred good guys making good decisions all around him. The same goes for other agencies I will mention along the way.

At one point in my career I wrote a letter to the one of the new Governor’s explaining why he should remove the Superintendent of the Oregon State Police. New Governors have the option of removing Department heads upon taking office. The Governor chose to forward my letter to the Superintendent. That was ok there was nothing in the letter I would not have said directly to the Superintendant.

Headquarters hacked my computer and the document was frozen for about 2 weeks while they tried to figure out if they could do anything to me. I think they searched every corner of that computer I could see the curser moving all over the place when the screen was on. I always felt you should speak your mind. I did my job, but more importantly I covered my ass at all times. I may have been one of those idiots.

I moved out of State upon retirement, I thought it would be nice to get a fresh start where people did not know what I did for a living. The worst thing to tell a civilian was that you were a State Police Officer. The Oregon State Police is not a Highway Patrol the assignments vary greatly. Most people think we all chased taillights and gave honest hard working people a bad time.

If you tell a person at a party that you were in law enforcement you can bet that you will hear about a speeding ticket they received. The last speeding ticket I wrote was in the early 1980’s.

Do not misunderstand or feel I am bashing on anyone who works uniformed Patrol their whole career. I have the upmost respect for their job choice, I tried it and I knew it was not for me. When you are out there at night with no backup for 50 miles or more and you are stopping car loads of potentially armed people it takes a great deal of courage. The shift work is hard on officers and their families. I want to thank them for their sacrifice and service.

It’s hard for people to understand the variety of assignments involved with the Oregon State Police. I will attempt to paint a picture of some of these jobs. Everyone starts out as a Patrol Officer (Trooper). This does not mean that he only writes speeding tickets. As a young Trooper I worked cases involving fish and game, burglaries, arsons, thefts, death investigations, domestic violence, drug cases, forgeries, as well as the standard patrol duties. As a Trooper you are allowed to follow up on cases to a certain point. However, if you are working graveyard you can't make the contacts necessary to complete a case, at that point there may be a decision to hand it off to Detectives and that was my passion.