SPARTA – Ben Schock and his son, Reese, have both wanted to pursue law enforcement careers since they were young children.
Tuesday, their dreams became true. On the same day. In the same law enforcement agency.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office swore in its two newest officers during a ceremony at the Monroe County Justice Center. Ben Schock joins the sheriff’s office as a transport officer, and Reese Schock begins his career as a jailer.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Reese Schock said.
Reese Schock, an 18-year-old graduate of Sparta High School, is making law enforcement his first career stop. For Ben Schock, it has been a much longer journey. He spent most of his childhood in Oregon and helped run a business until completing law enforcement training at Pioneer Pacific College in 2009.
After that, it was still another decade before Ben Schock took his first law enforcement job, when he was hired by Monroe County as a 911 dispatcher. He said the timing of his career path took into account his wife and four children.
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“The kids were a lot younger then,” he said. “Now it’s time to do what I’ve always dreamed of doing.”
Ben Schock said he’s looking forward to his job because it gives him a chance to interact with the public. He said it’s important to treat everyone with respect, regardless of their criminal history.
“They’re still people,” Ben Schock said. “They’re going to have good and bad days just like the rest of us have good and bad days. You have to listen to their frustrations and show empathy.”
Reese Schock wants to make law enforcement his lifetime vocation. He said becoming a jailer “is a good stepping stone for where I want to go. I want to end up on the road as a sheriff’s deputy.”
Ben Schock said his son’s “willingness to listen to people and his compassion” will serve him well in law enforcement.
“He wants to help people,” he said. “If he keeps doing what he does, he’ll do great.”
Ben Schock is married with four children, and the entire family attended the ceremony, including with his mother, Cindy Schock.
“We’re ecstatic,” Cindy Schock said. “We’ve had family members that have had problems with the law, and that didn’t deter (Ben and Reese) from law enforcement. Now they want to help people like that.”
Ben Schock said it “means the world” to share the swearing-in ceremony with his family.
“I was proud just watching (Reese) taking the next step in what he wants to do,” he said. “This is one of my lifelong dreams, and for (Reese) to follow the same footsteps that I want to pursue is important.”
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