Badge of honor: City swears in five new officers

Published 4:21 am Saturday, April 26, 2008

By MARGO HORNER, The Mirror

For 20 years, Melissa Johnson wielded a blow dryer and shears in her daily duties as a hairdresser.

Today, she wields a gun.

Johnson, 40, is one of five new Federal Way police officers to graduate from the Basic Law Enforcement Academy last week.

She remembers longing to be a police officer after graduating from high school years ago, but at 18, Johnson wasn’t old enough. So she rented a chair at a beauty salon and settled into a career doing hair.

As her 40th birthday neared, Johnson reflected on her life and thought back to her dreams of being a police officer.

“As you get close to 40, you start kind of reevaluating your life a little,” she said.

Johnson applied at the Federal Way Police Department and was one of 18 officers hired as a result of Proposition One, a utility tax increase that voters passed last year, which funded additional officers. About half of the new officers transferred from other departments and half were entry-level.

Entry-level officers attended a 19-week academy and will participate in 12 weeks of field training before they get their own patrol.

Adrienne Purcella, 23, is perhaps one of the most eager new recruits. At graduation last week, she was recognized for a variety of additional achievements including completing 10,000 extra pushups beyond those required.

“It’s been a lot of fun at the academy. It’s been a great experience and we’re just ready to get out there and do what we learned here,” she said.

Purcella left a career in marketing to become a police officer. She said she is motivated by the desire to give people a sense of safety and security, something she didn’t enjoy growing up.

At the academy, officers worked hard physically and studied hard in the classroom. Experts from throughout the state taught courses in criminal law, investigations, criminal procedures, crisis intervention, defensive tactics, firearms, patrol procedures and traffic. A variety of guest instructors gave presentations on things such as child abuse, sexual predators, drugs and computer crimes.

“It was very intense physically, academically and emotionally,” said new officer Frank Martin, 34, a former corrections officer.

Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson said he was grateful for the community support with Proposition One that paid for the additional officers.

“It’s very exciting for everyone,” he said. “We’re looking forward to having them.”