Why I’m a cop

Halfway into 2016, police find themselves at greater risk on the job, and they face a bright white spotlight of public skepticism. Fatal shootings of officers in Dallas, Baton Rouge and just last week in San Diego prompt responses from Midlands officers about what motivates them keep to the mission – to protect and serve.

RICHLAND COUNTY

 

His dad inadvertently inspired him when he was 7 or 8 years old during a mundane trip in the family car. His parents, sister and Lee spotted two men beating another man with 2-by-4s. His father, who works in information technology, intervened when none of the other bystanders would.

“Everybody just stopped and watched, and my dad couldn’t sit there and watch it anymore,” Lee said. “But we were telling him, ‘Don’t get out of the car. Please don’t get out of the car.’ He did anyway – and he ran them off.”

After seeing that, Lee said he wanted to go into a job where he could save someone’s life. But he admits being in law enforcement isn’t quite like what he imagined when he studied criminal justice.

Lee has taken that new mission seriously. When he patrols, he keeps a sharp watch for neighborhood kids – and when they find him, they flock to his car and clamor for stickers.

The stickers aren’t the only trick up Lee’s sleeve. He attended Lander University on a basketball scholarship and he still loves to play. When he spots a group of kids around a hoop, it’s game on.

Despite the tensions in law enforcement now, Lee said he wouldn’t want any other job.

“Being a man of the Christian faith, I don’t fear the death or the danger,” he said. “I know where I’m going if I do die. I carry out my job the same way I did before the (recent shootings) incidents happened. But you do realize that you’re not invincible.”

COLUMBIA

 

That yearning was a throwback to a childhood dream, Wesley said. In elementary school, he had been wowed by an LTD Crown Victoria police car that came to the school.

“I saw the officers, they were talking to us, and I thought, ‘Wow, they’re going to turn on those blue lights, drive down the road and give tickets,’ ” Wesley said.

So when he revisited that childhood dream. Wesley joined his hometown Allendale Police Department.

“People had to get used to this kid that grew up in my community is now wearing a uniform,” Wesley said. “It was shell shock for them.”

He learned quickly that policing is about more than writing tickets, he said.

“As my career moved forward, I realized in law enforcement we have to be counselors – not because we have to be, but because we need to be,” Wesley said.

That attitude helped him save a little girl many years ago, Wesley said. After being called several times to catch a repeat runaway, he bonded with the girl, and she told him her uncle had been molesting her. Eventually, the man was convicted.

Years later, the girl spotted him in Columbia. He didn’t recognize her at first, but she knew him.

“Stuff like that makes you feel good,” Wesley said. “It lets me know that as long as you’re willing to talk to people and help them out, you never know what an impact that you’re making on a person just by sitting down and talking with them.”

LEXINGTON COUNTY

 

She said growing up in the small town of Mayo, Fla., instilled a desire to help those around her – and that desire is why she intends to stay in law enforcement despite the danger.

“I felt the need to serve or do my part,” Singleton said.

As a victim assistance officer at the sheriff’s department, she helps people who’ve been hurt get through their struggles. Singleton also offers resources available to crime victims.

How have national tensions and shootings of police changed her perspective on being an officer? They remind her to be more vigilant, Singleton said.

It’s a discussion she’s had with her husband, who also works with the sheriff’s department. The two met when she joined the agency, she said.

“We were friends and training partners and co-workers prior to (marriage),” Singleton said. “I’ve known him my whole career here at the sheriff’s department.”

But though she and her family are more watchful for danger these days, Singleton said she enjoys what she does.

“I feel like this is the most rewarding position that I have ever held,” Singleton said.

This story was originally published July 30, 2016 at 8:48 PM with the headline "Why I’m a cop."