Sgt. Sadie accomplishes two big goals

It has been a busy, gratifying and exciting week for me, Sgt. Sadie, as I accomplished two big goals since last week's column.

On Saturday, I ran in United Way's Spooktacular 5K run. It had been more than a year since I had run in a 5K race, and an injured ankle followed up by a bad sinus infection weeks before the race put me in a bit of a crunch in terms of my training.

Not that I'm that serious of a runner, like T-G publisher Hugh Jones, who ran the race in about 21 minutes, but I am competitive (as my editor John Philleo likes to tell me) so finishing the race -- without walking -- in a reasonable amount of time was very important to me. I have run on and off since I was about 16 years old, and, though I'm not a fast runner, my motto "slow and steady wins the race," has always worked for me.

On race day, it was so nice to see so many people out there to compete in the race or support the competitors. I commend United Way for organizing such an event, and hope it will encourage those who couldn't make it this year to shape up for next year's race. You'll love it!

I finished the race in just over 31 minutes, and accomplishing this goal had me energized for the week ahead of me, which would be highlighted by my final session of Citizen's Police Academy.

Over the last seven weeks, the Shelbyville Police Department has put forth great effort in teaching us ordinary citizens about the many different hats police officers wear on a daily basis.

We learned about traffic stops, crime scenes, drug dogs, accident scenes, the communication center, and domestic violence, among other things. As we reflected on the seven weeks, prior to receiving our certificates last night, the consensus was that police work is so much more difficult than any of us thought going into class. Most agreed that the night we learned about traffic stops -- when we actually made our own mock traffic stops, encountering many dangerous, yet real situations officers endure -- hit that point home more than any other session.

"Police officers don't get paid nearly enough to deal with what they deal with ... to put their face in that kind of danger and risk their lives for such low pay ... I couldn't do it," was a comment made by one classmate of mine.

Another woman, whose husband is an officer, said prior to this class, when her husband left for work he was just "going to work." Now, she said she's come to the realization that this is no ordinary job. "He could go to work and never come home."

One thing I can attest to, when I was making my mock traffic stop, my adrenaline levels were so high that I could barely concentrate. Remember, I'm the one who dropped my gun!

Chief Austin Swing agreed, officers don't get paid enough, but -- like journalism or teaching -- those who choose the career are passionate about it ... and they're in it for the right reasons.

Swing said that although most officers are passionate, the job does not go without stress and consequences. The divorce rate for a police officer is 89 percent! Additionally, he said that police officers have high rates of alcohol and substance abuse as well as suicide rates, due to the stress of the job.

Swing and class leader Lt. Trey Clanton told us they're hoping to do more Citizens Police Academy classes in the upcoming months, so if you're interested in learning more about police work, I'd encourage you to contact one of them about filling out an application.

Our final session of police academy ended with the officers showing us one more thing they know how to do. As we sat down to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by Uncle Sonny's BBQ I knew that this was a police activity in which I could succeed.

I guess it's a good thing I like to run.

-- Sadie Fowler is a staff writer for the Times-Gazette. She can be reached at (931) 684-1200, ext. 214, or by e-mail at sfowler@t-g.com. This column is scheduled to print every Thursday.