A new officer in blue

Monroe Police Officer Trevor Larson was sworn in before Mayor Geoffrey Thomas and the members of the Monroe City Council during its meeting on Tuesday, May 5. The ceremony was performed by longtime Evergreen District Court Judge Steven Clough, while Monroe Police Chief Tim Quenzer provided the introductions.

"It's my pleasure to introduce Officer Trevor Larson,GÇ¥ Quenzer said. "Trevor began his career with our department on April 15, 2014. He graduated from the basic law enforcement academy on Dec. 9, 2014, and just recently finished his field training assignment.GÇ¥

Entering the field

After graduating from the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission's basic law enforcement academy, new officers are required to participate in the department's Field Training Officer (FTO) program. Typically, new officers train in the FTO program for three to four months, with at least three different field training officers before being cleared for duty.

Larson lives in Kirkland with his wife, Tarah, and their three children Brock, Allyson and Heidi. A union carpenter for Sellen Construction for seven years, Larson had always been interested in pursuing a career as a police officer.

"I've always wanted to get into law enforcement. My wife and I married really young ' she was 18, and I was 19 ' and when I turned 21, I wanted to get into law enforcement,GÇ¥ Larson said. "But she has other family members that were in the fire department, and she knew what kind of stress public safety jobs put on a marriage.GÇ¥

At the time, the young couple had a child who was 1, and another one on the way. Larson decided to shelve his law enforcement career aspirations temporarily and wait until the timing was a bit more opportune. Eventually, his career at Sellen Construction came to a crossroads: The company wanted to give him a promotion, thus increasing his responsibility.

"I was like, "I either commit to that, or I go and pursue my dream of being in law enforcement,'GÇ¥ Larson said. "I chose that, and now here I am.GÇ¥

It was actually through his job with Sellen Construction that Larson discovered Monroe. He helped build the new Providence Medical Group's Monroe Clinic (19200 N. Kelsey St.), near Lowe's. Additionally, he served on the Sellen project team that built the Providence Medical Group's parade float. During the 2013 Monroe Fair Days Parade, the Providence float won first place in the "Best FloatGÇ¥ category.

Choosing Monroe-á

As he became acquainted with the city of Monroe, Larson decided that it would be an ideal place to pursue his career in law enforcement.

"I was thinking, "You know, Monroe seems like it would be a pretty neat town to work in,'GÇ¥ Larson said. "So I got home and I looked online, and that exact same day Monroe put up an application for a recruit.GÇ¥

When he was first hired, Larson worked the front desk, waiting for an opening at the academy. All officer recruits must be hired on by an agency prior to enrolling in the academy, and space is limited. Up until recently, each prospective new officer in Washington state attended the academy in Burien. But as of January 2015, the academy in Spokane is once again operating, after being closed for seven years.

There were a couple things that struck Larson about the Monroe Police Department right away. One was the other officers, whom he had immediate respect for. The other was the supportive environment created by the citizens, who are champions for the police department.

"It's phenomenal,GÇ¥ Larson said. "You just don't see that anywhere.GÇ¥

So far, Larson loves his new job. Particularly the fact that each day holds a high degree of unpredictability, something that he enjoys. He is looking forward to moving his family out to the Monroe area sometime in the near future.

"I've been on solo patrol now for about two months. I'm way happier,GÇ¥ Larson said. "We just sold our house, and we're going to be moving out here to the area sometime this summer.GÇ¥

The Monroe Police Department currently has two additional new officers in the pipeline. Officer Recruit Shaun Van Eaton is at the basic law enforcement academy, and Officer Pamela Baker is completing her FTO assignment.

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