REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK

I usually spend my breaks sipping a latte and surfing the Web for mug

shots of my buddies.

These guys do push-ups.

After an hourlong lecture on police tactics, Class 129 -- nickname

“Honor Defined” -- burns off a little steam by, yes, doing push-ups.

In sync of course, with a little marching thrown in for good measure

and a couple inaudible yells.

Just the day before, they decided to spend the second half of the

afternoon twisting each other’s body parts and slamming each others

heads into a thin mat. The instructor called it police tactical

training. I call it excruciating.

To an outside observer, it seems like everything Class 129 does

centers around pain. Preparing for pain, enduring pain, and then

going home at night and dealing with pain. We already went over the

pepper spray demonstration, right? Yeah, big ouch.

And to top it off, these grown men and women are practically

regulated to toddler-status by their instructors, who tell them when

they can speak, when they can sit, when they can stand, when they can

go to the bathroom and even what they can eat.

Obviously Lt. Jackie Gomez-Whiteley and Chris Taylor aren’t the

bad guys. In fact they’re some of the most helpful people I have ever

met, and extremely polite. Instead, what I think is at play here is

that these two, and the dozens of other instructors at the Golden

West College Criminal Justice Center, are facilitating the sacrifice

and commitment the cadets have agreed to make.

Let me explain a little more. At some early stage in their lives,

the cadets decided they wanted to become police officers. That meant

they would have to live moral lives and avoid temptations that many

around them were falling into.

It was a decision to make a sacrifice, eventually followed by

another sacrifice demanded on them and their families when these

cadets opted to join the academy. A sacrifice that meant starting

class everyday at 5:30 a.m. and leaving 12 hours later, bruised and

battered with books and homework. Perhaps one day they will have to

make the ultimate sacrifice. Let’s all hope that never happens.

What’s most remarkable is that these cadets are making this

sacrifice to lead a life of service to others. Don’t get me wrong,

being a cop has many benefits, like a carrying a big stick and

getting to say “Stop, in the name of the law,” but if these guys were

just in it for the money or power, I’d suggest a number of different

professions, journalist excluded.

No, these young men and women are looking for the honor and pride

that comes with being an officer and the police academy is there to

teach them how to do that. The cadets come in saying they are ready

to make a big sacrifice to achieve their career goals. It’s the

instructors’ job to push the cadets and teach them that they are

capable of sacrificing much more than they ever imagined.

Sometimes we don’t really realize how much we can give until

someone takes it from us. Sometimes we can’t realize our full

potential until someone tell us that they believe in us, then kicks

us in the butt and tells us to go out there and tackle life head on.

Keep up the good work Class 129. I enjoyed the two days I spent

with you. And make sure you get some ice on those bruises when you

get home.

That’s an order!