So, when you think of a hero, what do you think of? Do you think of a man in tights flying around with laser vision, extraordinary abilities, and ideals like courage, justice, and resilience? All you truly need, though, is that last little bit to be considered a hero. Often heroes can come in many forms, sometimes appearing as normal ordinary people, people who often go unnoticed, yet they are always ready to serve and protect. Our local modern-day heroes, our law enforcement, dedicate their lives to keep our community safe. They may not wear capes or spandex, but they carry the safety of the people of Delta on their shoulders.
So, it was another pretty normal call for Deputy Horn: some underage kids drinking at a party, nothing huge and nothing that bad. Horn had to call all the kids’ parents, and while all this was happening he had a seventeen-year-old girl waiting for her mom in the back of his truck. Then, Deputy Horn and the seventeen-year-old girl started talking and she mentioned how she was pregnant and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. Horn encouraged her by saying “I’ve seen people that when they choose to be a mom, they’re able to do it. And I think that if that’s what you choose, you can [and] you’ll… find the strength to do it.” After this conversation and about nine months later, Horn “got to hold that little baby girl. Her name was Paisley and I’ll never forget [that] cutest little baby ever.”
Deputy Horn, Deputy Rubel, and Deputy Mimi Savage each give us a unique new perspective on what it means to serve our community.Each one had a desire and a clear goal to be a police officer since their teenage years or younger. Deputy Mimi Savage said “I’ve always wanted to be a cop since I was little, since I can remember.” It seems that between all these cops they have always had a common goal of being a police officer since they were little kids. An innate sense of wanting to help and wanting to serve the community seems to be a common occurrence between all of these heroes.
Deputy Rubel said something similar. “I want[ed] to be a cop when I was young.” Surprisingly although, that wasn’t his first choice after high school.
Both Savage and Rubel went into the Marine Corps, and Savage served odd jobs from pushing carts at grocery stores to working as a Signal Engineer at the railroad before finally deciding to be a police officer. Though out of all the jobs she had, Savage said “this [job] is by far my favorite.”
The same also goes with Deputy Horn, with him being a youth minister and an electrician before finally landing as a police officer. He felt that his “life had been so blessed that it was time to give back.” Horn would see how people would complain about stuff that happens in their local community and he felt like “if I was gonna s
it on the porch and complain, that I better be willing to get up and go do something about it.” He felt that he couldn’t just sit and do nothing while only complaining about how the world was. He had to do something to see the change he wanted.
But why though? Why is it different from any other job? What about this makes it any more different or difficult than a nine-to-five job? It is the saving of lives and the protection of the people in our community. Also, not to mention, the constant state of readiness and willingness to be ready at a minute’s notice in case of an emergency, and the toll it takes to see the dark part of our communities. Horn said “it was pretty difficult… seeing the dark side of the world, that took a lot of… time to get used to… [and] to learn how to process and handle that.” He went through all this to do what’s right.
Deputy Mimi said it best: “I want to do what’s right. I want to help my community. I want to get people off drugs. Am I going to make an impact? Probably not. But if I can save one life, I did my job… that’s the best reward that you can have. Not a medal. Not a certificate that says that you did that. But for me, personally, it’s to save a life.”
Though like all people, they make mistakes. They are people like you and I, but what separates them from a lot of people and what even separates them from some other police officers, is their ability to recognize and own up to their mistakes. This is a hard thing to do especially when everybody is looking up to you, showing that even as police officers they also make mistakes too. That we are all people.
Deputy Rubel said that one of the hardest things to do as a cop is “all about being able to make a decision and stand by that. And if you’re wrong, being able to admit it and get better from that… a lot of roadblock getting through this job is being able to do what’s right”.
