police officer

My name is Zach Phelps I am 23 years old. I am a police officer and a volunteer firefighter. I love my job and I love to help people in need. I am a southern Oklahoma native, good ole country guy I love riding 4 wheelers, playing in mud, shooting guns, and going to rodeos.

[officerphelps112]

Was your police test video based or written form?

It’s a written test

[officerphelps112]

Is it okay to be a little scared entering this field?

Absolutely! There’s nothing wrong with being a little scared, I get a little scared sometimes. “Bravery is not the absence of fear but the action in the face of fear”

[officerphelps112]

Were you scared to be a cop at first?

Not at all, don’t get me wrong there are some scary moments but I was more excited than anything

[officerphelps112]

Wow. Working holidays don’t bother you??

I love spending the holidays with my family as much as anyone else but I decided to be in this profession and sometimes you get the short straw it happens

[officerphelps112]

Do you like working the night shift? And do you work a lot of weekends and holidays?

I’m a natural night owl, so I enjoy night shifts, and yes I work a lot of holidays and weekends

[officerphelps112]

Chase money or chase dreams?

I believe in chasing dreams, I chased my dream of being a police officer, you can chase the money all you want but money doesn’t buy happiness

[officerphelps112]

Do you believe you’ll find someone to settle down with and they’ll accept you being a cop?

Well, I hope someday I do find someone to settle down with, the hardest part with being in relationships with a police officer is having to understand work comes first and that at really any point you are subject to be called in, the crazy hours we work, and especially the really hard days we have coming home with an attitude or especially on the women’s side wondering if their significant other is even gonna come home at the end of their shift. Relationships are hard being a police officer but there’s lots of other jobs that puts a strain on relationships

[officerphelps112]

Is it worth being cop and not getting paid good? Basically asking if the job outweighs the crappy money

I love it, and yeah we do get paid crap but honestly I’m not in it for the money, sure I have bills and things I have to pay for but when you are truly passionate about being a police officer you realize it’s not about the money it’s about helping ppl

[officerphelps112]

Why did you become a cop?

Because I’ve always wanted to be a police officer, ever since I was little I dressed as one for Halloween, I loved the tv cops I would watch it for 24 hour straight if I could, I like helping ppl, I love interacting with kids, when I walk into a school to talk to kids watching their face just light up, that’s all I need to know that I’m in the right profession

[officerphelps112]

Would you work for a sheriffs department? Or only police department?

I would work for both, it’s the same job pretty much, you might have more area at a Sheriff’s office but it’s all the same pretty much

[officerphelps112]

What are your hours as a cop?

I work 7p to 7am right now

[officerphelps112]

Would it be pointless for work for the sheriff department for deputy while waiting to get into a police department? Since here it's a lengthy process!

It's really just up to you honestly police/ deputies it's all the same job

[officerphelps112]

If you go work for a bigger department, would you have to start from the beginning there? Like take tests again and go through academy again?

Not always, there are some bigger departments that want you to go through their own academies, and there are also departments that make you take their physical tests but not all of them, with the academy I done went through which is the state academy a lot of departments will accept that by itself

[officerphelps112]

Do you work at a small department or big one? Which would you prefer or would you rather just be a cop for anybody?

I work for small department, including me there are 7 full time officers and we are in a population of about 4,000, and I like it here it's a really good town to work in and gain experience but I would like to work for a bigger department

[officerphelps112]

What did you do to crack down on the physical test?

Well I don't know what physical tests there are like but I did a lot of cardio running jogging, and I normally go to the gym and work out

[officerphelps112]

What is the best way you studied for your police test? I take my test in two months so I'm trying to crack down on it!

I just did it the old fashioned way! Got all my paperwork and went over everything I could!

[officerphelps112]

I'm interested in applying to go through the process to join my brothers and sisters in blue. I know it varies from dept to, dept; but, I have stretched ear lobes, a full beard and knuckle tattoos. How big of an impact do you think that'll make in my being accepted? I live in Seattle and the SPD policy on appearance states that it's a case by case basis. I no longer wear any jewelry in my ears, as it was from when I was much younger and have since moved on.

It's just different for every police department, my department doesn't mind tattoos or beards as long as the tattoos are anything completely offensive and the you keep your facial hair trimmed and professional looking, like you said it's just a case by case situation