Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM September 2018 | Page 17

Meet League City Police Chief Gary Ratliff By: Erin Webb, Communications & Media Director League City Regional Chamber of Commerce [email protected] Q: What made you decide to go into law enforcement? A: I was in the volunteer fire department from age 18 to 21 and I used to ride with the police in Dickinson. The gentleman that I rode with was also in the volunteer fire department. He left Dickinson and went to League City. He contacted me and told me that League City was giving a test and that I might want to try taking the test since I enjoy doing that kind of thing. I was available on that Friday and went to take the test and everything is history from there. Q: So that answers why did you choose League City . What do you love about League City? A: League City has so much potential. Throughout the years of coming up through the ranks, it’s just we have so much capability to improve; not just the police department but everything about League City. We are 10 miles across and 5 miles deep, close to 57-58 square miles, somewhere in there, with about half of it undeveloped. We can do anything and we have always had the capability to be the best of the best in this area. Those kind of capabilities are what we have – we’re blessed, and it’s exciting! The challenge of keeping up with the growth has been a big deal throughout time and I think we have the people in place now, not only in the police department, but across the city to help us get where we need to be. Q: Are there any specific initiatives you are particularly proud of having been involved in? A: I’m proud of the reputation that we’ve developed and the level of expertise that our officers have and what we’ve been able to keep with that. As far as a specific initiative - I was involved in the DARE program, which was started back in early 90’s. I didn’t create the DARE program but I got to be involved in that process. I’ve also been involved in the warrant programs we have. I put the first video cameras in the cars – I was captain at the time – when we got them years ago. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in a lot of things from the ground up and we’ve built up over the years. It’s hard to pick just one thing I’m proud of – I’m proud of the department as a whole. Q: What about this Citizens’ Police Academy? Do you think educating people about the department gives the people a better understanding of the job? A: Absolutely, the reason we created the Citizens’ Police Academy was to bridge the gap between us and the citizens we serve, and it wasn’t to just focus on the ones that are supporters of the police department, but those that are not particularly fond of the police department as well, so they could see on the back side of that what we are all about. What they get in that 15 week program is basically a little bit of what our officers get when they go to the academy, by the best instructors we have to teach that level of expertise. During that time frame, they not only get to engage with the people that are in the class with them and become friends with them, creating that kind of bond, but they also get to have the opportunity to get that bonding moment with each of our police officers. They also have a specific amount of time that they are required to ride with our police officers on duty, so they get to see a completely different perspective of what our officers deal with and who they are. Most of the experiences we’ve had have always been positive. We wanted folks to open their mindset a little bit to see things from a differe