Features

On my way to meet State Trooper Leslie Johnson for a ride-along in her squad car, I was wondering what the night would be like. Would there be high-speed chases like the ones you see on the news or in movies? If so, I was up for it. Would Leslie be called to the scene of an accident? I hoped not. Would it be a quiet, uneventful evening on the roads of Southern Minnesota? It might be. I didn’t know what the night would be like, but I was excited to learn about a career as a State Highway Patrol Officer.

Leslie’s shift started at 3:00 p.m. on this particular Monday. She was on duty from the very second she pulled out of her driveway; I met her at the Law Enforcement Center in Fairmont shortly after that. Our first stop was in her office where she began making a few phone calls. She let me sit in as she spoke with several people, including a Martin County attorney whom she talked to about an upcoming trial for driving misconduct. While observing Leslie in the office, it was apparent she had some amazing communication skills, the respect of her co-workers, and that she was very comfortable with her job of 22 years.

Leslie has an Associate of Science degree from Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Mankato State University. Leslie finds great importance in book learning, but said that real life experience makes all the difference in her career. She laughed as she remembered back to when she was fresh out of college. “Man, was I green,” she said about being 21 years old and new on the force. At the time, every new officer spent a couple nights on the job with another officer before going solo. During Leslie’s first night on her own, she encountered a young man tearing up grass at the local high school. She honestly couldn’t remember who was more scared — herself or the student!

As Leslie’s career advanced, she took additional training and received certification as a reconstruction specialist in 1990. This means she can do comprehensive investigations of traffic crashes. She gave me a demonstration of how she maps out an accident; the equipment she uses is very similar to that of a surveyor. As a reconstruction specialist, she can determine if infringement of law occurred and, if so, can hold the driver accountable for those violations in court. She said figuring out the scene of an accident has everything to do with physics. It’s all mathematical derivation and incorporates geometry and algebra.

What Leslie really enjoys about her job is the freedom she has as a trooper. When she hops into her patrol car, she gets to decide where she goes and what she focuses on during that shift. Field edge to field edge is in her jurisdiction, covering Faribault, Martin, and Watonwan Counties. On the night of my ride-along, Leslie’s focus was on the illegal practice of people passing on the right at intersections. We left her office a little before 5:00 p.m. and headed down the road. Once in the patrol car, I tried to take in all my surroundings. There was video equipment, a laptop, a flashlight, a phone, and a whole bunch of buttons and levers I didn’t recognize and dared not touch. I also noted that KJLY, a local Christian radio station, was on in the background.

While we were parked along the side of the road watching for traffic violations, we talked about her career choice and her many experiences. Then it happened. A van passed another vehicle at a marked intersection. Leslie said, “Well, that was illegal. We’re going to have fun catching up to him.” She slipped the car into drive and we sped down the highway after the van. I watched with wonder and curiosity as Leslie got out of the patrol car to go speak with the man we had pulled over. She walked up to the vehicle with confidence and poise and issued him a warning.

After supper, Leslie pulled over a motorcyclist whose rear taillight wasn’t working. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor guy as I listened in on their conversation. He had just driven into town to visit a buddy when he was pulled over. I felt like yelling, “He looks really bummed out, let’s just let him go!” Yet, I knew Leslie was making a good decision and was just doing her job when she wrote out a ticket. Leslie has an amazing capability to keep situations very low key and under control. She tries to put people at ease and to give each person respect.

I had the feeling that my ride-along with Leslie was beginning to wind down when we began heading back toward Fairmont on the interstate. I was wrong. While we chatted, Leslie would flip on the radar to determine the speed of oncoming vehicles. All of a sudden, Leslie clocked a car going 84 mph in a 70 mph zone! She proceeded to whip the squad car around to catch up with the speeder. I felt like I was in a scene of the show “Cops” as we flew down the interstate at a high speed. It was awesome. Leslie maneuvered the car and the entire situation with care and ease, like she had done it a million times before. When we caught up to the car in pursuit, Leslie issued a ticket and we continued on our way back to Fairmont.

We rolled into the Law Enforcement Center around 11:00 p.m. Before going our separate ways, Leslie took the time to give me a tour of the facility and I met some of the many men and women working behind the scenes. Among them were a woman who was watching surveillance and taking calls, and two jailers — one of whom was a woman. At the end of the night, she asked if I felt awake enough to drive home. When I said that I was, we waved good-bye and I watched her leave in her patrol car to go home.

Throughout my shift with Leslie, I asked many questions about her career and what it is like being a woman in law enforcement. The first thing I asked Leslie was if she had witnessed or dealt with any problems working in a field dominated by men. She informed me that in the beginning there were skeptics and those who had negative attitudes towards women in law enforcement. Personally, she has gained the respect of those who once doubted her. Leslie claimed that she has always been somewhat of a tomboy and is comfortable interacting with the men she comes in contact with.

When asked what characteristics are necessary to have in law enforcement, Leslie ran off a whole list. Leslie has been described as “tenacious.” She considers this a compliment because it’s an excellent quality to have in her line of work. Leslie recommended that a trooper should have a good sense of humor and be able to keep things in perspective. One should be methodical, a rational thinker, and someone who can keep situations under control emotionally. It’s important for a trooper to have good communication skills — verbal and written, and to be physically active. They should give attention to detail, and be observant. A lot of times it’s an officer’s word against someone else’s, so it’s important to be honest and to have integrity. An officer’s word needs to be of value.

Would Leslie recommend a job in law enforcement to other women? Not necessarily. While Leslie likes the fact that her career is not predictable, she admits it is not for everyone. Being a state trooper is a good occupation, with freedom and security and lucrative pay, but there are some drawbacks. It is a life-changing career. She said it is very difficult to keep a lid on the cynicism at times. A trooper has momentary interaction with people, mostly when they are in their less than shining moments. People in law enforcement are lied to a lot, and that can take its toll on an officer. Leslie has to deal with things that the public wouldn’t necessarily have to, such as neglect, abuse, and trauma. The profession has high rates of divorce, suicide, and alcoholism, and the average life expectancy of retiring officers is only five years after retirement.

At the end of our time together, I asked Leslie to sum up her goals as an officer. She answered me by saying that she wants to be a vital, effective, and active trooper. With the risk of sounding corny, she added that she wants to be the best darn trooper she can be. Corny? I don’t think so.

I truly enjoyed participating in a ride-along with State Trooper Leslie Johnson. She is a strong and dynamic woman and it was a pleasure to spend an entire shift with her. I’ll never forget our high-paced pursuits or the cruise we took through the interstate median. It was enlightening to take an inside look at the exciting, respectable, and challenging career of law enforcement from a female trooper’s perspective.