The Monroe Police Department officially welcomed two new officers to the force last week, during a swearing-in ceremony at Monroe City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
Officers Shaun Van Eaton and Craig Robertson were given their oaths-of-office by Evergreen District Court Judge Steven Clough in front of Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas, members of the Monroe City Council, friends, family and several of their peers. Police Chief Tim Quenzer introduced both officers, highlighting the fact that while Van Eaton and Robertson both successfully completed the requirements necessary to earn their badges, their journeys were distinctly different.
Van Eaton
Van Eaton was hired by the Monroe Police Department on Dec. 17, 2013, after a successful 11-year career with the Washington State Department of Corrections at the Monroe Correctional Complex.
He is a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve, serving his 18th year as a Reserve Marine.
He started at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission's basic law enforcement academy in March 2014, but was injured in July, just two weeks before graduation. Unable to complete the academy, he spent the next nine months in physical therapy as he recovered. He played an administrative role at the department during that time.
Because the healing process took as long as it did, Quenzer said Van Eaton had to repeat the academy in its entirety. He began the 719th Basic Law Enforcement Academy on May 5, 2015, finishing on Sept. 10. He excelled while there, Quenzer said, earning a firearms award and achieving the Patrol Partner Award; an honor assigned to him by his classmates, who voted him as the officer they would most want to be partnered with.
Once out of the academy, Van Eaton began his Field Training Officer (FTO) assignment, riding with three different training officers. He completed FTO on Dec. 24, and was cleared for independent duty.
The Monroe Police Department recently issued Van Eaton a letter of recognition to commend him for the effort he put forth to overcome his injury. They are fortunate to have someone with his level of dedication and determination, Quenzer said.
"I'm very, very happy to have him in our department,GÇ¥ he said. "It takes a lot of dedication to go through the academy two times.GÇ¥
Becoming a police officer is not the first time Van Eaton has demonstrated extraordinary perseverance. In 1998, at the age of 26, Van Eaton decided he wanted to join the military. He chose the Marines because he felt it held the greatest degree of challenge, joining just three years shy of the age cut-off for someone without prior service.
During his military service Van Eaton has been in five different units and placed on active duty twice, deploying to Iraq in 2003 and 2006.
To Van Eaton, the career shift is all about being able to help people on a broader scale. While working at the prison, his goal was to care for those inside the walls ' inmates and coworkers ' and to make sure that those who were supposed to go home at night went home safely. Hired by the DOC in 2002, Van Eaton was on the Special Emergency Response Team and involved in training other correctional officers.
As a police officer, he said, he'll still be able to make sure that people get home safely, but now he'll be doing it from outside the prison walls.
"Helping the community from the other side of the wall was a big thing for me,GÇ¥ Van Eaton said.
Finally being all the way through the process is a great relief, he said, and worth all the hard work associated with going through the academy twice.
"Just being able to graduate was a feat in itself,GÇ¥ Van Eaton said.
There were 29 officer recruits in the 719th academy, the majority of whom selected him as the officer they would most want to be partnered with. That was an incredible honor, he said.
"It was pretty humbling,GÇ¥ Van Eaton said. "I didn't know that it was going to be me.GÇ¥
Numerous members of Van Eaton's family attended the ceremony, including his wife, Susan, and his 91-year-old grandfather, Jack. Jack Van Eaton is a Word War II veteran who was recently recognized by the Consulate General of France as a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the country's highest decoration. At the start of the meeting, Thomas asked Jack Van Eaton to lead them in the Pledge of Allegiance, which gave the ritual a particularly meaningful tone.
Robertson
Officer Craig Robertson was a lateral transfer from the Stevensville Police Department in Stevensville, Montana. His career in law enforcement began in 1999 as a deputy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in southern California. San Bernardino is the largest county in the United States, extending from east of Los Angeles all the way to Las Vegas.
He and his wife, Lisa, eventually moved to Montana, where he spent some time as a probation and parole officer for the Montana Department of Corrections. Deciding to return to law enforcement, he was sworn in to the Stevensville Police Department in December 2014, and attended the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in early 2015.
Stevensville and San Bernardino were two different worlds, Robertson said. San Bernardino boasts a population of more than 2 million, while Stevensville tops out at just less than 2,000.
"It's a really small community, so it's a different way of policing out there,GÇ¥ Robertson said. "You basically know everybody.GÇ¥
Monroe seemed like the perfect amalgamation of the two, Robertson said, which is why he and his wife decided to make the move. They currently live with their three teenage sons in Redmond ,where Lisa works as a dispatcher for the Redmond Police Department.
The thing that struck him most about working for the Monroe Police Department, he said, was the immediate sense that he was part of the family. Since Robertson was already an experienced police officer, his field training assignment was designed to help him become familiar with the Monroe community. He worked with several different officers throughout the process, he said, and immediately felt like part of the team.
"I have been welcomed with open arms from everybody, and you don't get that as a new officer all the time,GÇ¥ Robertson said.
Robertson has embraced the Monroe community, his participation so far including an appearance at Little Doves Preschool in December to receive Christmas gifts purchased for police department staff. He also participated in Monroe's second annual Shop with a Cop event at the Monroe Walmart on Dec. 21.
"They've really welcomed me in and it's been really great,GÇ¥ Robertson said. "I haven't really felt new.GÇ¥
Both Van Eaton and Robertson invited their wives to perform the ceremonial badge-pinning after they had been sworn in.
"I am proud to recognize these officers before this council, and I value their commitment to the Monroe Police Department,GÇ¥ Quenzer said.Photos by Chris Hendrickson Officers Craig Robertson and Shaun Van Eaton pose in the lobby at Monroe City Hall after their swearing-in ceremony last week. Van Eaton gets his badge pinned during the ceremony by his wife, Susan.Robertson gets his badge pinned during the ceremony by his wife, Lisa.
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