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Interview with Officer Donavan McCoy of the Stockton Police Department

Police officers are great characters to develop in any crime fiction story. I have enjoyed creating these types of characters and conducting background research with various law enforcement agencies to add depth and realism to the storyline.

What makes a great police officer? Who are these men and women that want to protect the rest of us? What does it take to become a law enforcement officer?

I decided to find out from an experienced police officer that candidly answered some of these questions for me.

I want to welcome today one of California’s finest, Officer Donavan McCoy with the Stockton Police Department.

Jennifer Chase: Welcome Officer McCoy. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you worked as a police officer? What are the different areas you’ve work in law enforcement?

Officer McCoy: Thank you. I started in Law Enforcement in 1974 when I became a police cadet in my hometown in Buhl, Idaho. I entered the Army in 1978 and worked as a Military Policeman until 1979 when I was promoted to Investigator. I got out in 1982 and went back to my hometown and joined the 8 man police force were I worked until 1984. I moved to the 2nd largest city in the State of Idaho and became a Pocatello Police Officer. I worked there for 5 years as a patrol officer, Field Training Officer and SWAT officer.

About 5 years later I was married to a California girl and was so tired of being a cop in the snow that California sounded pretty good. I applied for several agencies and chose Stockton because of the large population, variety of crime and their department’s reputation. I have worked for Stockton now for 21 years and have worked in patrol, K9, Field Training, Detectives, School Resource, and now I pilot a desk in the Training Division.

Jennifer Chase: What has been some of the challenges that you have faced on the job? What has been your favorite part of the job as a police officer?

Officer McCoy: The challenges in this job is learning to accept the fact that society expects perfection from you as a police officer (Let’s get into the “PERFECTION” lecture later), but expects you to give them a break when they make a mistake. And then society acts like it is okay for that to happen.

Another huge challenge, and one that causes cops to become jaded and dysfunctional, is the lack of sound fundamental criminal prosecution, specifically on the judicial side of the desk. Putting a case together whether it’s a traffic fatality, armed robbery or murder… and having a judge manipulate the evidence and testimony until the jury has no choice but to let the bad guy off with a slap on the hand. At times, if no jury is requested, the bad guy is given a lesser crime conviction and released, “In the Name of Justice”.

However in contrast, the best part of the job, which is having a working relationship with the finest citizens on earth, who by their very nature and makeup are as close to perfect as a person can get. Each assignment I have had the honor of working in was fulfilling each and every day. I learned as a School Resource officer that I would much rather work with kids than their parents any day. As a K9 Officer I learned to trust the instincts of my canine partner, almost without fail. I learned in SWAT what men are truly made of when the bullets hit the fan.

Jennifer Chase: Now, your current position entails recruiting for Stockton Police Department. What are some of the most important qualities that police departments look for in a new police officer?

Officer McCoy: Good Question. Just getting past the first phase of the background process is the challenge in most cases. To be a police officer, you have to WANT IT. It must be in your heart and soul. If it is not, you will not make it in this field. The pay is just OK, the work is thankless, and the citizens require perfection from you. After you bust your butt making the best arrest of your career, the DA does everything he/she can to deal the case away to insure a good win ratio.

Sorry, got off on the soapbox there for a minute. Ahhem… Anyway, like I was saying; someone with the yearning for this line of work is already aware that their reputation means everything to them. They did not do drugs, they did not drink, and they did not waste their young lives doing things they know would prevent them from being officers a few years down the road. We look for integrity issues in a person’s background. We expect absolute honesty when we conduct their background. We rely on them to answer the background questions with pure honesty, and we back that up with the polygraph test down the road. We insure they are in this vocation for the right reasons, and they will undergo a psychological examination to prove this. We look at their driving record, as they will spend 360,000 hours behind the wheel and we cannot afford one nasty crash where a citizen may get hurt. We look for a person with the compassion to help the little old lady get her stolen yard gnome back, and the tenacity to stay on a case until the bad guy gets his day in court. This background process may take a full year to complete.

Jennifer Chase: What are some of the challenges or concerns that you have observed for women when they first begin working as a police officer?

Officer McCoy: Their first challenge is telling themselves they can do this job. The second is for them to prove to other officers that they can. All rookies have to prove something as the months drag on in the training program. For women, it’s double as they have to prove that they have what it takes to do the job. But, with that said…. There are thousands of women in law enforcement who are doing the job every day. Some are the most exceptional officers anyone has ever seen… some are just so-so…. Hmmm…. Just like the guys are. Imagine that?

Jennifer Chase: Can you tell us about the recruitment process? What can someone who is interested in joining a police department expect in the recruitment process?

Officer McCoy: Well, first of all recruiting has dried up for most agencies across the United States in the past year. I expect that the remainder of this year will be just trying to keep the positions they currently have. The process however when it’s working looks like this: Set your sites on 2 or 3 good agencies or decide where you want to work. Apply with the agencies Human Resources department and sign up for the physical agility test. If your idea of working out consists of walking quickly to the neighborhood McDonalds and back then you must immediately detour to the local market for fruit, vegetables and bottled water. You will need to be able to run 1 mile (without stopping for a smoke) in less than 14 minutes and get 1 ½ times around a college track in less than 2 minutes. Then you can think about getting over the 6 foot solid wall and dragging a 150-pound dummy 30 yards.

If you think this may be too hard, don’t waste your time. Find work that is less taxing on your physique. That test is representative of the first day at the academy, and every other day at a busy police department. If you pass the physical test you will be invited to take the POST Basic Written test (California). This test is the basic entry test used by almost every agency in California. It will tell us whether you can understand what you are reading. The experts say you can’t study for this test, but the experts are wrong. You find the local newspaper, read it from front to back, highlight the words you don’t understand and look them up in the dictionary later that evening and understand their meaning and spelling. Then do it again the next day. Pretty soon, you will not be highlighting any words in that newspaper. You also have to stop talking ghetto talk and learn the English language and practice it. If you can sound intelligent you will be intelligent.

Jennifer Chase: What’s the best advice you can give to someone who is interested in becoming a police officer today?

Officer McCoy: Excellent question! Better sit down for this one Ms. Chase because here comes that lecture I warned you about. Keep your nose clean. Do not do drugs of any kind. Learn to be tolerant of other people and practice it. If you have any prejudices against any race, religion, national origin, gender, disability, age group or hobby…. Lose it immediately. In order to be a police officer you have to be perfect.

Seriously… I am. You don’t believe me? Think about this… Does the public… do you expect the police to be perfect? As a police officer in uniform, I can’t walk down the street and pick my nose or scratch my behind. Every person is looking at me. Not to find fault, but to see what I’m up to, or where I’m going. If they see me do some questionable human behavior, my reputation and the reputation of all police officers is shattered in their eyes. While driving your police car, you have to obey the traffic laws unless you are running lights and siren. Even then, you have to use all caution. You crash, you set the police profession back again. You have to be perfect, because the public demand it.

As a matter of fact, I demand it as well. If a police officer responds to my house to handle a call of some sort, I expect that officer to handle the case perfectly. Everyone does. You have to be perfect off duty as well. All of my neighbors and friends know I’m a police officer. My lawn has to be perfectly mowed and cared for. My paint has to be in order on my house. My car has to be clean and my kids must be well behaved. I can’t turn my stereo up in my own home, and I can’t drink beer in the front yard. Perfection. The public demands it. The Chief of Police demands it, your street partners will demand it, and you should demand it of yourself as well. If you are not prepared to change your way of thinking, find another profession. If you are, go after it one hundred percent.

Jennifer Chase: Thank you so much Officer McCoy for taking the time to answer my questions today. They were insightful and I hope that it gives the general public a more detailed understanding of what it takes to become a law enforcement officer today.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the hardworking men and women in law enforcement for their dedicated service. It doesn’t go unappreciated. Thank you.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a law enforcement officer, please contact your local law enforcement recruiting department for more information.

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