Yesterday (Monday) was the first day on the job for rookie Carroll Police Department patrol officer Jake Smith. Though it was the routine first day of filling out paperwork, lining up uniforms and getting acclimated with the building, Smith has a bit more stress in this transition than many others. Not only is he moving to Carroll from his home town of Sumner, nearly three and a half hours away in northeast Iowa, he was newly married on June 6th as well. He said, however, that the stress levels associated with all these major life changes are on the way down.
Smith is a graduate of Hawkeye College in Dubuque and of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. He said his education has given him the solid foundation for his career, and now it is a matter of getting out there and learning the lay of the land.
He said since arriving in Carroll, there is not one thing he has seen that he didn’t like, but there is one thing he likes that he hasn’t seen and that is a Kwik Star convenience store. Smith added the day-to-day diversity is part of the appeal of being an officer and he is ready to dive in and put his education to work. And in addition to familiarizing himself with the community, Smith is ready to get to know the people.
Smith added, if there was one thing he wanted the people of Carroll to know it would be that they shouldn’t be afraid to meet him. He said he is a cop, but he is a person too, and a pretty friendly one at that.
