Feature Story

Working for 30 years in law enforcement can take its toll on anyone, but not for Jesse Youngblood. Reflecting on his job 20 years later, he still feels a sense of pride when talking about his contributions to the Garland Police Department.

His journey into law enforcement was not as simple as it sounds. His path took many twists and turns throughout the years.

“I met your grandma in freshman year, and during junior year she got out of school early, I wasn’t going to let her get away from me,” Jesse Youngblood said. “At the time, I hadn’t gotten a degree or anything so I got a job as a forklift operator.”

The high school sweethearts did not question their choice of moving together to Dallas. As Ruth Ann Youngblood taught math, and later was a guidance counselor, Jesse operated forklifts to make a living.

Jesse had always had plans to earn his degree, but was not sure when that would happen. He continued to work at the same job so he could support his family. One day, a friend who worked in the park department told him that Garland was looking for police officers. The same friend suggested that he apply for the job.

“I thought, well, why not,” Jesse said. “They make pretty good money and I could get a job there and finish school.”

Police officers are paid around $55,000 per year. Although, this can change depending on the specific job.

“I just fell in love with the aspects of the job,” Jesse said. “It was so terribly interesting to run around in a squad car and answer calls for service.”

Once he got the job, Jesse was very excited to start working as a police officer. Jesse found something he wanted to pursue as a career, and loved to go to work every day.

“He loved what he did. I could tell that he loved going to work everyday,” Blake Youngblood, Jesse’s on said.

Before Jesse could get promoted, he was drafted into the army for two years. Jesse had to leave his significant other and his dream job behind. After basic training, Jesse was assigned to work in Korea for 13 months. When his time in Korea was over, he worked on the N.I.K.E. Air Defense Base, which specialized in creating an anti-aircraft missile system. He made a plan to finish his degree when he got back.

“I said well when I get back, I’ll finish my degree,” Jesse said. “I got back, went to work for the police department for a while to earn some money and I still was just crazy about the job and I never did quit.”

What was originally a plan to earn money so he could get his degree, turned into a career. Early after getting back from the army, he received a promotion to work in the Juvenile Justice Department. He worked with teenagers for a little while, but quickly got another promotion.

Eventually, he did go back to school so he could finish his degree, but not before a long stream of promotions.

“Eventually I did go back to school in 1971 ,” Jesse said. “But I never did quit my job.”

The political situation at times did affect how the Garland Police Station could conduct their work. The police were not always favored in their town, and many people figured out ways to get around the laws created.

“When they (Illegal Immigrants) entered the US, they had to hide and we would find them in abandoned houses and such,” Jesse said. “But due to the current political environment, they did not want local police enforcing the immigration laws.”

It is a misdemeanor to enter the U.S. illegally, but in order to prosecute an individual, an officer must see the crime being committed. The Garland Police officers were far away from the border and could not see the crime being committed, and therefore could not prosecute anyone. Another political movement in the late 60’s was the “Hippie” era. Many of the people who followed this era did not favor the police, and gave the police the nickname of “pigs.” This nickname was used to insult cops.

“I remember my dad had a painting of a pig on a wall in his office,” Blake said. “He also had a porcelain pig on his desk to sort of make-fun of the people who called him these names.”

Jesse enjoyed his job so much that he influenced others to pursue this career too. One person he influenced was Blake.

“As a kid growing up I always thought I was going to be either a police officer or a professional baseball player,” Blake said. “I always saw how when we would go out, he was just respected by so many people and I was very proud of him.”

Jesse says his greatest accomplishment is creating the Crew Development Program that he instituted in the Police Department. This helped officers feel that they had more of a career, not a job. He was also one of the first groups to have computers in the police cars.

“Helping make the other officers feel as if they were helping a larger cause, and not just going to work everyday to fill in a quota was my best accomplishment,” Jesse said.