Auxilliary in Holly Springs
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My first law enforcement job was as an
auxilliary officer in Holly Springs NC.
I was hired by Chief Lee Carroll.
Soon after I was out on the streets in
the middle of everything a small town
has to offer.
Holly Springs is a great place with a long
history as one of the oldest incorporated towns
in Wake county. It has some great old civil war
homes and even a revolutionary war headstone
by a rural road just outside of town.
And one of those things was a freak snow
storm. I ended up working over 32 hours straight
with fellow auxilliary, Claude Williamson, pulling
stranded motorists out of ditches.
Winnipeg Police
One of my early role models and inspiration was
my Uncle Norman. He was a constable with the
Winnipeg Police Department when I was very
young and then became a detective.
I have Uncle Norman's custodian helmet from
when he walked a beat in the early 1950's.
It's marked "Christies London".
Sidearms over the years
Things change slowly in law enforcement and I have
been lucky enough to see a lot of changes for the
better. One thing that changed was sidearms. No
I'm not that old - this is what my uncle carried for
most of his career on the Winnipeg Police
Department; a Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 with
a six inch barrel.
My first sidearm was this Smith & Wesson Model 67
4 inch barrel stainless steel revolver. With two
speedloaders I had a total of 18 rounds of .38 special.
Our department moved forward a bit and allowed us
to purchase autoloaders in 9mm or .45 caliber. My
choice was the Brno CZ-75. It fit my hand perfectly
and was double action.
When I first held the Chief's H&K P7M8 I hated it,
it felt like a staple gun. After I tried it at the range
I was sold! It was simple and easy to operate.
Amazingly fast to swap magazines. It was a natural
pointer and very accurate. I went out immediately
and bought my own; a P7M13. I carried this one on
duty for almost 17 years.
Joining the Sheriff's Office I had to retire the P7 since
it was not on the approved list. I settled on the Sig Saur
P-226 E2 as my best choice on the list.
The Sheriff's Office is moving to the broader use of weapon
lights. Range exercizes are biased toward them. Since I'm also
doing more bicycle duties I'm looking for something lighter.
The new H&K P30 with Surefire x300 Ultra light gives me less
weight, a simpler operation and a more compact weapon.
One of the very large advances in control
in the last 20 years is the Taser. The Taser ECD
(Electronic Control Device) allows the office an
alternative when deal ing with a dangerous subject.
When I started the choices in the use of force
continuum were very limited and physical, which
exposed the officer and the assailant to risk of
permanent injury. The Taser reduces this chance
by a large degree.
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Chief of Police in Holly Springs |
After about a year Lee Carroll announced he
was stepping down. He recommended me to
the town council as the new Chief of Police.
Here I am after the swearing in with my new
Assistant Chief, Bob Armfield.
My new department's officers line up
in town hall for a portrait. One of
my first tasks was to work for a larger
budget and obtain grant money.
Very shortly afterward we scrapped the
old '74 Plymouth for a new '79 9C1 Impala
with a real radio. Previously the only frequency
we could transmit on was with the sanitation
department of a neighboring town!
The new car actually had a prisoner
transport screen. Some wiseacre added a
NC Zoo bumper sticker... "You belong in
the Zoo".
Even that Mayor got into working to improve
the Police Department. Hon. Jim Hancock
drys the patrol car after washing it himself!
We even got the Governor himself to come
out to see what we were building up. Here
the Hon. Jim Hunt poses with us.
We even experimented with gas saving technology.
The KZ 1000P Police bike sipped gas.
I had the opportunity to design the patch for the
department; fun and creative. At the same time I
designed a town seal. It was adopted by the town
council in 1979 and still used today.
After my first year in office the Mayor and Town
Council presented me with an award for my work.
Recently I received an invitation from Capt. Bornes
of HSPD to visit and help them with the history of HSPD.
I visited the police station and presented Capt. Bornes
with many photos and pieces of old Holly Springs memorabila.
From the photo in the lobby it's obvious the HSPD
has grown considerably over the years.
This year I bought some Christmas Ornaments for
the tree one for each department that I've worked for.
www.kumhyr.com
Email me your comments or suggestions.
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Auxilliary in Fuquay-Varina |
In '83 I decided to go back to school
to complete my degree. I had to step down
as Chief, but wanted to keep working
in law enforcement. It was in my blood.
I went to work with the Fuquay-Varina
Police Department.
Fuquay's old town hall had a courtroom and a
jail. Very nice solid old building. Here Mike
McDermott shows off a felony stop position
with an Ithaca model 37 shotgun.
Shift change time at the PD. Officers Rome
Norris, Mike McDermott and Sargeant
Ricky Jones.
A disturbance call with me as back up to
Sargeant (later Chief) Stacy Pleasant.
Railroad Street, Fuquay-Varina.
Sargent Ricky Jones and Officer Jerry Phillips
behind the old police station.
Chief Angus Hair leading a parade down
main street.
Later on we changed the paint job on the cars
and we also changed to new shield style badges
from the older sunburst badges. My brother
Paul came to work at the Wake County EMS
station across the street from our office.
Taurus police car, slow and squirrely not
my favorite. Here I'm taking a lunch break
in my driveway with Barney the Wonder Dog.
In 1999 I was transferred to Texas in my
day job. I had to give up my role and hang
up my badge. I'd been working with Fuquay
since 1981.
Well I'm back in the saddle again, after a
ten year break I decided to go back to work
as a Sheriff's Reserve Deputy.
Travis County Sheriff's Office
Travis County does some nice things for their
deputies, one is a chance to purchase some
very nice commemoratives. Like this one
celebrating the 175th Aniversary.
Here I am with my patrol bicycle at the 2012
Travis County Golden Gloves Tournament working
security for the event as a Deputy.
The TCSO Bike Patrol Uniform is high visibility
yellow with Scotchlite highlights.
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