小蝌蚪APP

Now in Police Boots, He Walked In Students' Shoes

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Posted on November 9, 2020

Marketing and Communications

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鈥淭hey鈥檙e having a bad day.鈥� That鈥檚 how 小蝌蚪APP Police Officer Roy Mendenhall thinks of the people he encounters in the line of duty. So he treats them accordingly 鈥� as decent people who, at that moment, are not at their best.

A big percentage of on-campus calls involve such minor incidents as 鈥渏ump starts and unlocks,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t might be finals week, and you鈥檙e stressing over your finals, and then you locked your keys in your car or your car won鈥檛 crank. You鈥檙e just having a really bad day.

鈥淪o in the process of dealing with that, we can give them a kind word. We鈥檙e here to help them. We鈥檙e not here to lock them up or give them a ticket. We want to avoid that as much as possible.鈥�

Mendenhall and his fellow officers can definitely identify with the student experience at South. Of the 18 officers who patrol the main campus and USA Health facilities, most graduated from South. Mendenhall earned his undergraduate degree in criminal justice in 2016.

Even in situations involving something far more intense than a frazzled student鈥檚 frustration with an uncooperative car, he still takes a de-escalating approach. 鈥淪ometimes you have to be an authoritative presence on the scene,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut you also talk to them like a human. Talk to them like a person.鈥�

With his imposing physique and deep voice, he can be an authoritative presence without difficulty. His biggest asset, though, may be his empathy. 鈥淭hey could be going through something else in their life, or a friend might be going through something that鈥檚 affecting them,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o if possible, I just try to talk it through with them and find out what else is going on.

鈥淥nce you bridge that gap, once you act humane toward them, just relating to them as a person, they鈥檒l be more willing to cooperate. Maybe they had a bad experience with law enforcement in the past, but we can show them that not everybody鈥檚 the same.鈥�

USA police are sworn state law enforcement officers who receive 13 weeks of training at the state training academy in Selma, just like, for example, state troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Chief Zeke Aull strongly encourages members of the department to take advantage of deep tuition discounts to continue their education at the University as well. Several have or are working toward master鈥檚 degrees. Mendenhall plans to be one of them.

He began as an engineering student. When he realized he didn鈥檛 have a strong enough physics and math background, he switched to criminal justice. Upon graduation, though, he decided against a law enforcement career.

鈥淲ith everything going on around the country with how the police were viewed among the citizens, I didn鈥檛 want to be associated with it at the time,鈥� he said.

Instead, he kept his job in the kitchen at a restaurant in Mobile. 鈥淚 like to cook,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 another way you can make people happy.鈥�

Eventually, after some reflection and conversations with his parents and friends, he changed his mind. He began to see police work as 鈥渁 way to give back to the community鈥� by showing a positive example of justice tempered with compassion. He joined the department in early 2019.

Today, many areas of the country are experiencing some of the same tensions between police and the people they serve that gave Mendenhall pause four years ago. 鈥淭o make sure we don鈥檛 get to that point,鈥� Mendenhall said, 鈥渨e want to bridge the gap between law enforcement and students.鈥�

Everyone from rookie officers to Chief Aull makes a point of informally interacting with the University community 鈥� chatting on the sidewalk during routine foot patrol, meeting over coffee with members of various organizations, sitting with students in dining halls. (COVID-19 protocols have unfortunately curtailed some of those activities for now.)

Mendenhall grew up in Camden, Ala., a couple hours鈥� drive north of Mobile in rural Wilcox County. It鈥檚 the hometown of Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Jeff Sessions, and former U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner.

When he came to South, he found a wider world. Mobile offered much more to do and, to his particular delight, lots of restaurants to explore. On campus, he got a taste of police work by serving as an auxiliary officer at sports events. He got to know some of the officers who are now colleagues and, in handling the tricky role of being both student and law enforcer, honed his empathetic approach to projecting authority.

In and out of the classroom, he felt at home. He still does, even when dealing with people having those bad days.

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