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Getting into police work
CHUBBUCK - Detective Cpl. Adam Anderson got his first taste of law enforcement during his interview for a dispatcher position with the Chubbuck Police Department and has been hooked ever since.
Anderson, 31, was being interviewed in 2000 by then Chubbuck Police Chief Jerry L. Rowland when a call came over the top cop's radio. ''He just stopped talking and was listening to what was going on,'' Anderson said. ''Then he asked me if I wanted to go along with him.'' That call turned out to be a bomb threat at the Pine Ridge Mall and Anderson hit the scene with the police chief. When officers found a suspicious bag, Anderson said Rowland tossed him the keys to his cruiser and asked him to pull his car around to that side of the mall.
''I hadn't even been hired yet and I was driving his car and helping to evacuate the mall,'' Anderson said. He joined the Chubbuck Police Department in 2000 as a dispatcher and two years later become a patrol officer.
''Dispatch was a good introduction to the world of law enforcement,'' Anderson said. He patrolled the streets of Chubbuck for four years before becoming a detective in July 2006.
''Chubbuck is a small community and we are a relatively small department,'' Anderson said. ''While being a detective allows me to spend more time on individual investigations, if a call comes in for backup, we go as well.'' Anderson originally hails from Weiser and made his way to Eastern Idaho to attend Rick's College, now Brigham Young University-Idaho, in Rexburg, where he received his associate in arts degree.
He also met his wife there and they eventually moved to Pocatello where Anderson enrolled at Idaho State University. But with a baby on the way, he dropped his studies to work full time and support his growing family. One of his most unique talents, Anderson said, is his ability to speak Vietnamese, a language he picked up while serving an LDS mission.
''My mission was in Melbourne, Australia, among the Vietnamese community,'' he said. ''It was a good experience working with people from a different culture.'' Although he has had little need for his Vietnamese language skills in Southeast Idaho, Anderson said his mission taught him many valuable lessons he uses today.
''It really helped me to understand that people come from some very different backgrounds,'' he said. ''It has helped me to be understanding of others.'' Anderson has been in his share of dangerous situations, more than he anticipated he would see working in a community Chubbuck's size. He said it's been worth it for the rewards the job provides.
''The hope is that I have made a difference in somebody's life,'' Anderson said. ''I may not change the world, but hopefully I can change somebody's life.'' Article RatingReader CommentsSubmit a CommentCommenting RulesWe encourage your feedback and dialog. All comments are subject to deletion by our Web staff.
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