Daniel DeLaO knows how a gangster thinks. He used to be one. Now, at 22, he's changed his life, and he wants the chance to help wayward teens.
DeLaO was one of about 100 people who attended an employment session presented by the Salt Lake Police Department's minority recruitment team Saturday. They crammed into the Salt Lake City Council room hoping they have what it takes to become one of Salt Lake's finest.Lt. Phil Kirk said the workshop detailed what's involved in the tests and training and why the department wants more minorities and women as officers.
"We're not just interested in hiring them but in promoting them," Kirk said, pointing to a board showing pictures of a number of minorities and women of rank in the department.
The department wants promising young people to see police work as a way to provide help and guidance to their own communities as well as others. Kirk said department officials know that if the public doesn't trust them, they won't work with them.
A very diverse group of men and women showed up Saturday morning to test the waters of police work. Some of them stayed afterward for a little extra advice or to turn in written applications. All of them have hopes like DeLaO.
The former military policeman won a scholarship to attend Police Officers Standards and Training earlier this year but can't afford not to work full time. DeLaO has a wife and two young children who depend on him for support.
So he settled for an offer from the Utah Highway Patrol to work in protective services as a category two officer. UHP paid for the training he needed for that job.
Young and energetic, DeLaO said he was very impressed with the workshop; he said it strengthened his resolve to become a police officer.
DeLaO grew up on Phoenix, Arizona, and said he found his way into gang life. It was a Hispanic police officer who was able to help DeLaO find his way out.
"He took us aside and talked to us," DeLaO said. "He didn't reach all of us, but he did reach two of us. I realized doing wrong wouldn't really get you anywhere."
The man who helped him understood him and even resembled him. DeLaO could see himself in the man's position with a little time and a lot of hard work. Kirk hopes minorities and women will see police work as an opportunity to be a role model to their communities.
"I know there's a lot of guys out there like I was," DeLaO said, adding that he can reach them because of "my experiences."