I have collected stuff all my life. I still have a US stamp collection I started when I was ten years old.

I started buying Road Champ police cars when they first appeared in stores several years ago. I wish I had had the foresight to buy several of the early issue cars.

Last year I learned that a fellow officer at my department was also collecting. He was assigned to duty at the high school and I didn't see him very often. The subject just came up when I ran into him one day. He said he had 25 or so cars at his office at the school.

I have discovered via the Internet that there are a large number of collectors out there. I now have around 100 cars. I purchased a custom Pennsylvania car and a custom Hawaii Sheriff's Department car to fill in some of the missing states. I recently purchased a premium New Port News PD car and haved ordered a premium Cleveland PD car.

I also discovered via the Internet that my New York SP car is an "error".

I was able to get custom decals made for the Hurst PD cars and have sold about 20 so far. We have a total of 75+ officers and 40+ civilians. I expect to sell a few more.

It takes about 20-25 minutes to strip old decals off cars and cut and apply the new decals. The cost of a car and decal set is around $15.00. I figure I can make about $6.00 an hour selling these cars. Part time jobs pays a lot better and are less work. But hey, I was glad to be able to get a custom car for my department, so it's worth it.

I have a collection of about 500 police patches. They are harder to get now days than when I began the collection. Patches are more fancy now and cost a department more.

TCLEOSE (Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education) is the State agency that oversees training and licensing of peace officers in the State of Texas. It came into being around 1970-71 and has added greatly to the professionlism of the job. A person cannot work as a peace officer in the State of Texas without completing the required training and passing a State licensing examination. Basic training in Texas is currently set at 560 hours. A peace officer is also required to take another 40 hours of training every two years and qualify with the duty and off-duty weapon once a year.

Once a person receives a license, they are given a basic certification. Certification is determined by a combination of education, traning, and years of experience. The intermediate, advanced and master peace officer are the next levels of certification.

My law enforcement career has spanned almost 28 years. I have been with two police departments and a Sheriff's department. All in Texas. I am currently a reserve officer at Hurst. I have been with Hurst for eight years.

The qualifications to be a reserve at Hurst PD are the same as for a regular officer with the exception of taking the Civil Service exam. The PD furnishes all uniforms and equipment including vest and weapon (.45 Colt Mark IV, series 80). Reserves work single person units and can be assigned to any division of the department except the Tactical unit. Reserve may be primary or backup on a call, may work rover or be assigned to a district.

I have a Texas peace officers license with a Master Peace Officer certification, a TCLEOSE instructors certification, Field Training Officer certification, and Jailer License.

In October, 1995, I received the TOP COP award for the Dallas/Ft. Worth area from a local radio station and was named Hurst reserve of the year for 1996.

I have a son-in-law that is a police officer in Hurst, Texas, a brother-in-law that is a Lt. with the Wichita Falls, Texas fire department, and a brother-in-law that is a Sgt. with the Houston, Texas police department. I am very proud of them. They are outstanding and dedicated in their chosen professions and their personal lives. They have character and character always counts. PERIOD.

Law Enforcement gets in your blood. You either love it or hate it. I have never met anyone that was in it just for something to do.

I thank you for your patience if you were able to suffer through this rambling line of BS.

Stay safe.

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