Editor enjoys the first day of school
Editor’s note: For the next 11 weeks, Editor in Chief Kevin Herrera will be writing a first-person account of what it’s like to be enrolled in the Santa Monica Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy, which is intended to foster better communication between Santa Monicans and police officers, while giving residents a better understanding of what it takes to preserve the peace.
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY Even though I was suffering from a severe head cold and was laying comfortably on my couch watching a replay of Tuesday night’s Lakers game while popping Sudafed, I knew that there was no way I could miss the first day of class at the Santa Monica Police Department’s Citizen Academy, an 11-week course that takes residents and employees’ of local businesses through the intricacies of police work.
The academy, now 28 classes deep, is an extremely popular course with a long waiting list. There are only 20 students to a class and you are allowed only two absences or you get scolded. There was no way I was going to waste one, especially on the first day. Lauralee Asch, SMPD’s community relations coordinator and the academy’s taskmaster, would never let me forget it if I did, especially since I’ve been saying for the last two years how interested I was in the academy but never had the time to commit to it.
So, I peeled myself off the couch, brushed my teeth and headed out the door for class with a little pep in my step, excited about going back to school.
When I arrived, there was Asch waiting by the door, ready and waiting to tease me every second she got. Now, the Daily Press has a good working relationship with the police department (aside from that whole Speedo incident on April Fools’ Day), but traditionally, in cities all across the country, there has been some conflict between the Fourth Estate and the boys in blue. After all, journalists and lawyers are often viewed in the same unfavorable light.
That explains the good-natured ribbing I received from Lauralee and SMPD Chief Timothy Jackman, who playfully referred to the Daily Press as “bird cage” material. They were just joking, right?
Hey, it was all in good fun and I rolled with the punches. It made the night of introductions interesting and will surely keep me on my toes throughout. Now all I need to do is come up with some good one-liners that won’t ruffle too many feathers.
The first night was great. The class started off with introductions. We went around the room and introduced ourselves and talked about why were wanted to enroll. There were volunteers with the SMPD’s Mounted Unit, employees from RAND Corp., a resident who had taken the course eight years earlier and wanted to freshen up, representatives from homeless services provider Common Ground interested in learning how police interact with the down-and-out, an employee with the school district, and a life-long resident who was drawn in by her neighbor.
It was a diverse group of people, all friendly and willing to interact with total strangers. You really had no choice since you had to sign a waiver form and have a witness initial it.
After introductions, Jackman stood front and center, dressed immaculately in his dark blue uniform. He spoke about his roots, growing up in a small town in New Hampshire and how all police officers were volunteers. He said it created the type of environment that fostered trust between residents and officers, not something that is easily achieved in larger cities like Santa Monica — hence the importance of the academy.
Jackman spoke about “the lions” in the community who prey on innocent victims and how it is the police department’s job to protect the public. He also touched on the difficulty officers face every day, trying to perform perfectly every second they are on the clock even though they are human and are faced with the challenge of making life-or-death decisions in the matter of seconds. It’s not easy, not by a long shot.
He asked us students how many armed confrontations we think police officers have every day. Some said none, while one student said three or four. They were all wrong. Jackman said every confrontation an officer has is an armed confrontation because the officer brings the weapon.
After wishing us well, the chief departed with his entourage of officers, not to be seen until graduation. He was replaced by Officer Jacob Halloway of the Homeless Liaison Program. Halloway, a five-year-veteran and a budding stand-up comedian, gave the class a little PG-rated strip tease as he removed his Batman-esque duty belt, pistol, radio, tazer and other tools of the trade and passed them around. It was amazing to me how heavy just the belt and the baton are, and I wondered how could the officers run with all of it on, not to mention the bullet-proof vest, and that’s when Halloway made a joke, saying he usually uses his radio to have other officers do the sprinting.
Students asked him how much his uniform costs, whether or not he likes working with the homeless, and what his favorite beat is. Naturally, it was the beach, which he referred to as “bikini patrol.”
Asch wrapped things up with a brief speech about herself and why she decided to join the police department as a non-sworn officer, meaning she doesn’t get to carry a gun, but doesn’t have to manage the stress that comes along with witnessing horrific acts of violence. She prefers to work with the community and embrace communication. It suits her. She’s fun, self-deprecating and knows how to take a joke. At least that’s what I’m hoping, because if it’s all give and no take, it’s going to be a long 11 weeks.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 29, 2008. Read the original PDF.