The Marquette Citizens Police Academy kicks off its second class this week.
I don’t know if you’ve heard about this, but it’s a chance for people to sit down and learn a little about how police officers hope to better their community.
I know there’s a sometimes contentious relationship between the police and the people they serve, but in the UP I think we’re lucky.
Of course, it is different up here. I’m guessing that most non-UP police officers don’t have to worry about filling out paperwork for car-moose accidents, or dealing with incidents like those in the Mining Journal’s Marquette City Police log, such as my third favorite entry ever, “skunk walking down US-41 with a jar on its head.”
It was unique being a UP police officer even back in the old days, when they weren’t actually paid a salary but instead made $1 every time they arrested someone, which led to some awfully crowded jails.
Thankfully, that’s changed, and we now have dedicated groups of law enforcement officers all around the UP, ranging from sheriff’s deputies in Luce County who watch out for trouble in the wilderness to the fine officers in the city of Marquette who have to deal with problems ranging from drunk college students to the homeless to my second favorite entry ever in the Marquette City Police log, “two Pomeranians walking down street wearing sweaters.”
That’s why things like the Marquette Citizens Police Academy are good for the community. They might even inspire someone to consider law enforcement as a career.
The last time Lt. Mark Giannunzio was here he mentioned the State Police Academy was looking for applicants. So if you know someone from the UP who’s interested in the field, stick a bug in their ear. They could make a difference. They could end up defusing a sticky situation or even saving a life.
And, just perhaps, they may end up responding to a call like my all time favorite entry in the Marquette City Police log, when someone heard their neighbor screaming, thought they were being assaulted, called the police, who then discovered that the neighbor was not being attacked but was merely…
…singing in the shower.
I’m Jim Koski, and that’s another slice of “Life in the 906.”
