Around winter break last year, officer Zachary Daniels was assigned to work on the Kingwood Park campus. He has been a steady presence on campus ever since. He previously worked at Kingwood Middle School and already knew a lot of the students when he arrived.
Q: Why did you want to become a police officer?
A: “Make a difference in kids’ lives.”
Q: Has there ever been something in sometime that has been scary for you?
A: “I’ve worked really bad car accidents. I’ve worked active events. I’ve dealt with some really bad people.”
Q: What’s the best part of being a police officer?
A: “Hanging out with the kids.”
Q: What’s it like seeing the kids here at Kingwood Park that went to Kingwood Middle School?
A: “It’s good seeing them grow up and transition from young teens to young adults.”
Q: What’s a common question that people ask about you for being a cop?
A: “What is on my duty belt?”
Q: What are some of the things you do as a police officer?
A: “Walk the campus, make sure we don’t have no outside threats or inside threats, and to make sure y’all all grow up to be successful in life, give y’all advice like I didn’t get when I was y’all’s age.”
Q: Have you ever had to arrest someone at the school?
A: “It happens a lot more than you think.”
Q: Could you give me a number of people you have had to arrest?
A: “Around about 10-15 a year.”
Q: What was it like? Was it scary?
A: “It wasn’t scary, it was more like, ‘Why did you have to make me do my job’ type of thing?”
Q: What are you most proud of when you look back at all you have done and accomplished?
A: “It’s becoming a police officer because the road I was going down I would never become a police officer. I never thought I was going to be a police officer.”
Q: If you hadn’t become a police officer, what other job would you have done?
A: “I would’ve become a welder or a pipe filler.”
Q: Do you have any other activities outside from being a cop?
A: “I would fish, ride my motorcycle.”
Q: What advice do you have for others?
A: “Don’t take life for granted, take it for what it is.”
Q: What’s the hardest part of being a cop?
A: “Arresting a kid.”
Q: Are the kids mean to you sometimes?
A: “The kids aren’t mean to me. What stood out to me was seeing one of my worst kids at a different school actually graduate.”
Q: Have you ever wanted to become a chief?
A: “I really never thought about becoming a chief.”
Q: If there was a school fight, how would you handle that?
A: “I would try to break it up, make sure nobody was hurt or injured, if they were get them treated, and then investigate as to why they were fighting and determine if a ticket is needed to be issued.”
