Reasons We Serve: Police Careers & Officer Experience

Years of Service: 1987-2018

Joe started his law enforcement career at the age of 24 with the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1987. He worked with INS for 3 ½ years in the Washington DC Metro area where he worked hand in hand with state, local, and federal agencies combatting the crack cocaine epidemic that was plaguing the DC area. In 1990, Joe was hired by the DEA and worked for a brief period of time in Washington DC before being transferred to the Tucson Office. While there, Joe worked a wide range of drug investigations and eventually was assigned to the Public Corruption Squad working closely with the FBI. In 1992, Joe completed one tour with a DEA program called SNOWCAP which focused on operations in Central and South America. After 9 years working in Tucson, Joe was transferred to Billings Montana, where he worked and was promoted to the Resident Agent in Charge. Joe retired from the DEA in 2018.

Years of Service: 2008-2022

With no thought of being a police officer, Kristen had initially applied to be a dispatcher with the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office. During the application process, Kristen was asked if she had ever considered becoming a police officer instead of becoming a dispatcher and was soon working as a deputy in the jail. After working in the jail for three years, Kristen transferred to patrol where she was often the only officer on duty during night shifts. Kristen was soon helping the narcotics detectives with their cases and after three years on patrol was promoted to detective where she worked on cases involving drug trafficking, sexual assaults, and homicide.

Years of Service 1981-2005

Charlie began his career with the Chicago Police Department in 1981. After a year on the job, Charlie was transferred to the Chicago Public Housing Unit where he worked for the remainder of his career. While there, Charlie investigated crimes such as rape, robbery, homicide, drug dealing, gang violence and gun trafficking. As Charlie explains during this episode, he went where the problems existed and often worked in different locations from week to week. Charlie was Officer of the Month twice often as a result of the work he and his partners did with regard to gun trafficking. Charlie was shot twice on the job and his story has been sold twice and in 2017 resulted in a pilot being produced called Public Housing Unit.

Years of Service: 1967-2001

Skip became a Boise Police Department officer in 1967 when Boise had a population of about 67,000 people and when nights consisted of 4 patrol cars. As the population grew, Skip stopped working patrol and began working in one of the first-ever narcotics units in the area. Skip eventually began working as a detective in the major crimes unit where he handled cases involving rape, robbery, and murder. During this time Skip would read crime bulletins and books related to evidence processing and could be considered one of the first CSIs in Boise, Idaho. With Skip’s vast knowledge, he soon became a training officer and one year became the only training officer to ever train an entire graduating class of Boise Police Department officers. Skip is often still stopped in public by people who remember him for the kind way he treated them and helped others.

Years of Service: 1989-2012

Part two of the episode focuses on Larry with the Drug Enforcement Administration. From 1989 until 1997, Larry worked in the San Ysidro and San Diego California offices often working cases inside Mexico. From 1997 until 2001, Larry was assigned to the Tijuana Resident Office, and from 2004 until 2009 Larry was the Resident Agent in Charge in the Ciudad Juarez Resident Office. During his time with DEA, Larry was also a Group Supervisor in Fayetteville Arkansas, and was the Unit Chief and then Deputy Director at the El Paso Intelligence Center until he retired in 2012.

Part two primarily focuses on Larry’s investigations involving Mexico and many of the stories he tells appear very similar to those from the movie Sicario, the Netflix series Narcos, and the book Power Of The Dog by Don Winslow. While working in Mexico, Larry was awarded the Administrator’s Award which is the highest award a DEA Special Agent can be given by DEA. Larry was also awarded the Attorney General’s Award which is considered one of the highest awards an investigator can receive.

Years of Service: 1984-1989
Episode 29 is a two-part episode with Larry Roberts. To say that Larry has had a storied career does not do him justice. Part one of this episode focuses on Larry’s time with the United States Border Patrol. From 1984 until 1989, Larry worked the border between Mexico and California. During this time Larry became part of a specialized border patrol unit called the Border Crime Prevention Unit. During the time the unit was together, they were involved in 41 shootings that resulted in the wounding of United States Law Enforcement Personnel as well as the deaths and arrests of people known as Bandits. The team’s only focus was the targeting of Bandits that were involved in the rape, robbery, and murder of illegal aliens attempting to get into the United States. The stories told by Larry may sound familiar to those true crime experts who have read the book Lines and Shadows by Joseph Wambaugh which is a non-fiction book published in 1984. Part two of the episode focuses on Larry with the Drug Enforcement Administration. In part two Larry talks about his time with DEA working large-scale narcotics investigations. The stories he relates were those while he was stationed in California as well as while he was stationed in Mexico. Many of the stories he tells are very similar to the movie Sicario with the exception being that his stories are real.

Years of Service: 1997-2021

Ron began his law enforcement career in 1997 with the Sioux Falls South Dakota Police Department where he worked for about 4 years. He credits this time with the police department in helping him to later become an effective street agent. In 2001, he was hired by the ATF in Boise, Idaho. As Ron will tell you his primary focus throughout his career was gangs, guns, and drugs. He worked on many narcotics investigations and had a few significant cases involving outlaw motorcycle gangs. Ron has worked at the ATF academy helping to teach the new generation of ATF Special Agents and was a defensive tactics instructor, firearms instructor, and taser instructor. Ron also worked on dignitary protection details in Washington DC and New York City.

Years of Service: 2003 to Present

Brian began his law enforcement career in 2003 with the Ellensburg Police Department where he worked for 3 years. In 2006, he was hired by the Wenatchee Police Department which is located in Central Washington about 2 ½ hours from Seattle. Throughout his career, Brian worked in different positions such as a SWAT Officer and a detective in persons crime where he often investigated sexual assaults of children. Brian began to rise through the ranks of the Wenatchee Police Department and is currently one of two captains under the chief of police who said during Brian’s promotion ceremony that Brian may be the youngest person to ever be promoted to the rank of captain at the Wenatchee Police Department.

Years of Service: 1996-2018

Ernie began his career with the FBI in 1996, where he was assigned to Pierre South Dakota. Unbeknownst to Ernie he would begin working investigations on Indian reservations and by the end of his career would be considered one of the foremost experts on law enforcement on reservations in the United States. Some of the crimes Ernie investigated were murder, terrorism, public corruption, civil rights, violent crimes against children, and financial crimes.

Ernie worked as a Special Agent as well as a Unit Chief and Supervisory Agent in the field and at FBI Headquarters. During his career, Ernie was assigned to Pierre, South Dakota, Washington DC, Billings, Montana, Boise, Idaho, and retired as the Assistant Legal Attache in Bangkok, Thailand.

Years of Service: 2001-2023

Mynde began her career with the Twin Falls Police Department in 2001. Mynde started on patrol and then worked as a School Resource Officer, a Field Training Officer, and then as a detective in the Narcotics Unit. Mynde also worked as a detective in the ICAC unit which is the Internet Crimes Against Children program.

In 2018, Mynde was hired by the Bellevue Marshal’s Office. As explained during the interview, the Bellevue Marshal’s Office is essentially a police department but is called the Bellevue Marshal’s Office because of the initial founding of the department dating back to the 1800s. Mynde eventually became the Marshal running the department while still conducting her patrol duties until 2023 when she retired.