Meridian Home and Style May/June 2022 | Page 19

ON THE COVER

Meridian Police Department Corporal Keith Moody says he copes with the stress of being a police officer by not thinking about it much . And Moody said he achieves that by staying busy with multiple jobs .

The 62-year-old works full-time for the Meridian Police Department , but also serves part-time with Marion ’ s police department . He also is a volunteer firefighter in the community of Suqualena .
“ If I ’ m honest , I ’ ve seen some really difficult things ,” he said . “ But I don ’ t think about them because I believe that ’ s the best way to keep my sanity . There are cases out there that I do wonder if I could have done something differently but at the end of my shift , I have to cut my radio off – I have to focus on other things in life to keep from burning out .”
Moody came to policing late , starting in law enforcement in his forties . Initially , he worked in retail , including for a local building supply company . When the company he was working for was sold , he decided to give dispatch work a shot . He also worked for Metro Ambulance for about six years .
“ I ’ m not a person who grew up knowing this is what I wanted to do . But it ’ s been a good career – one that I ’ ve enjoyed and one that has worked well for me , for the most part ,” he said .
Moody said law enforcement has changed dramatically during his career .
Today , he said , criminals are a lot smarter than they once were because they have more access to information . Because of cell phones , it also is easier to share information quickly with large groups of people , including other criminals .
“ People sometimes make the mistake of thinking that people are criminals because they aren ’ t smart ,” he said . “ But that ’ s not true . A lot of criminals are actually very intelligent – and those are the ones who tend to be harder to catch .”
He said that the large number of crime shows on TV helps to build smarter criminals .
“ Look at shows like ‘ CSI . Criminals ’ now often don ’ t leave fingerprints ,” he said . “ They know to wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints because that ’ s something you hear about on TV and know about from the Internet . Criminals now might know how many police are on the street , and even who is on the street at any given time . They know when we are short staffed and they know to look for cameras before committing a crime . There is a sophistication to it that would probably surprise a lot of people .” He said social media is both a blessing and a curse for law enforcement .
“ You can get a lot of information from social media ,” he said . “ A lot of times , if someone has committed a crime , they end up telling people about it They want to brag and tell what they did – what they know . And that can often help us to solve crimes .”
Still , he said the ability to quickly share still images and videos of events involving the police can make work challenging . Moody said when he was a dispatcher , he wondered what life was like on the other side of the scanner .
“ I heard calls that came in and helped law enforcement to get to locations and help ,” he said . “ But I always found myself wondering if this was something I might want to do .”
Moody said his most difficult calls involve juveniles who either commit crimes or are victims of crime .
“ When you have an adult who you know is able to make decisions and think things through , you know what to do and what you are dealing with ,” he said . “ You can talk to adults and spell things out for them and know they understand . But juveniles –
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they are kids – and that makes it harder to decide who is really in the wrong and why . It gets more complicated .”
Moody ’ s favorite calls allow him to connect people with resources . A few weeks ago , he got a call about an elderly woman who had been scammed out of a sizable amount of money .
“ She was in her 90s and didn ’ t really have family ,” he said . “ She needed help and connection – needed someone checking on her . And I was able to connect her with someone from DHS ( Department of Human Services ) and I believe that helped her . I am going to go back out there soon and check on her again – see how she is doing . But I like situations like that – times when I see a problem and can be part of a solution . That ’ s what keeps me going .”
Moody has been married to his wife , Lesia , for a decade . He has two adult sons from a previous marriage and has stepchildren with Lesia that he says he treats like his biological children .
“ I really have to have the support of my wife to be able to do this ,” he said . “ She really stands behind me and backs me up . I ’ m thankful for that – and I am thankful that when I ’ m not at work , I am able to kind of leave the challenges of work there . That ’ s what I try to do , anyway .”
When he isn ’ t working , he said he can often be found helping his wife with her T-shirt business or working with her in the yard .
“ I ’ m always moving – always doing something ,” he said . “ Again , you can ’ t take too much time to sit around and think . That ’ s not good .” M
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