After 15 years of trying and waiting, the good news is in. I made it and was, finally, hired by a police agency recently, last month. I'm currently in training with the Washington County Police Academy and I was hired by the Washington County Sheriff's Office in Maryland. Washington County is 458 land square miles (467 total square miles) with a population of about 150000 as of 2018. So it is not a small jurisdiction but isn't as big as Montgomery County or Prince George's County (both in Maryland as well). And that's OK because although I wouldn't have wanted to work for a small and boring jurisdiction, I don't want a Baltimore-like jurisdiction either where calls are non-stop. I still like the rural feel too although cities and counties in the area are constantly growing.
For the people who know me personally, they are familiar with my struggle and ordeals dating back to early 2005. The first time I tried applying for a police job was in December 2004 with the West Virginia State Police. I took the physical test in Morgantown on that year, following my college graduation, but failed to make the 1.5 mile run on time. However, I had even more serious obstacles that I would deal with along the way. I was not a US citizen and couldn't apply anywhere else as that was a central requirement with other law enforcement organizations. So I was effectively forced to wait, or re-try with the West Virginia State Police -- which didn't require citizenship. I attempted several times with the state police to no avail. Rejected everytime for one reason or another.
I landed decent banking jobs at Wells Fargo and Navy Federal and decided to hang on to the latter as it paid me quiet well and I even worked from home. But my heart was truly in law enforcement and I kept daydreaming about it. By then, I was a volunteer reserve Deputy in Jefferson County, WV, with the local Sheriff's Office. I had become a US citizen just a little over two years ago and even immediately applied with the Frederick City Police Department (MD). I withdrew my application because I wanted to stay at Navy Federal. But like I mentioned above, my mind was always in law enforcement.
So this summer, in early July, I applied with the Washington County Sheriff's Office, seeing they were hiring on their website. It was a closer commute from my house as I wasn't really interested in driving to Frederick or beyond. I also found out they were starting their new academy with their first class through Hagerstown Community College. I was going to be part of the second class. I was somewhat lucky. The agency was looking for about 8-10 new hires which is a decent amount of people to hire all at once in this area. And the hiring process was somewhat accelerated but the standards were still the same. I went through the usual phases: physical (barely passed the 1.5 mile run, at age 39), two interviews, background investigation, poly, psychological, medical and final offer.
When I received a text inviting me and others to report to the Sheriff's Office, it was surreal. My three years old son was playing with me in my bedroom when I got the text. I told him that it looked like this was it, that I had made it. I told him he had no idea what I went through and why this was important. But for a boy as young as he was, he wouldn't have understood.
It's not over yet, however. I'm in the academy as a cadet and still have to pass all required testing and physical activities have become a challenge for a 39 years old like myself. Eight of us were hired, plus two laterals from other agencies. There are also eight cadets from the Hagerstown Police Department. Hagerstown is the biggest city in Washington County with about 40000 inhabitants. It's a busy jurisdiction. The academy started two weeks after I was hired, November 18. It will lasts until June 5, so about six months three weeks. Once I complete it, I will officially become a Deputy Sheriff. I'm nonetheless still employed and paid by the agency full time with full benefits while I train.
My co-workers both at Navy Federal and Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and its reserve unit were happy for me.
I will come back and add additional posts about my journey but cannot post details about the academy to protect academic integrity.
