Page 4 — Friday, February 14,2003
c
Editor in Chief
Ashleigh Radford
Web Editor
Opinions Editor
LeslieCJuick
John Arnold
Sports Editor
Photo Editor
Rusty Knowles
Eric?
By lohn Arnold
Opinions Editor
The white Crown Vic police inter
ceptor had a full tank and was ready to
go. It was Saturday, February 8"' and
Corporal Steve Haire had already been
on shift eight hours prior to me joining
him; he still had four more to go. In the
hours that followed, I would be riding
along with Cpl Haire in attempt to under
stand the man inside the uniform.
On the outside Officer Haire ap
pears to be a real hard nose. At first glance
Haire displayed the kind of “show no
mercy” attiuide that sparks fear into the
hearts of evildoers. I quickly discovered
however that Haire is a real mellow and
down to earth guy. Bom and raised in
Fayetteville, Haire attended the North
Carolina Police Academy. After the
Academy, Haire worked in Hoke County
as a reserve Deputy Sheriff For the last
5 Vi years Haire as been with the Meth
odist Police force, last December Haire
graduated from MC with a major in so
ciology and a minor in criminal justice.
MC isn’t just a part of life for Haire; it’s in
his blood. His mother, Denise Guidetti,
was the first French student to graduate
MC. The flag she donated still hangs to
day in Bums Student Center. Haire’s two
brothers Jean-Paul and Michel were
graduates as well. Even Haire’s wife Mary
attends night school here. Often Mary
sings the national anthem at MC basket-
ball games. Officer Haire is a father of
two. He is a scoutmaster to his seven-
year-old stepson Billy. His daughter
Ashlyn is 20 months.
2:58 PM. We responded to a 10-
6, a routine parameter check of the
president’s house. Officer Haire deter
mined that everything looked normal and
so we moved along. Today Officer Haire
is pulling double duty. Normally he works
Monday through Friday, 7:30 to 5:30.
Haire’s typical duties include training new
officers, scheduling work hours, and of
course patrolling the campus. Haire ex
Super Troupers:
A day with the MC Police
plained that due to the lack of police of
ficers he usually works well over 40 hours
a week. Haire looks forward to his time
off in which he spends camping in the
mountains of NC or the beaches of SC.
On his belt Haire
wears a Clock Model 22,
a can of pepper spray and
an Asp Baton. Though he
has never had to use any of
these devices on the cam
pus, he seen a few things
that have stayed with him.
Sadly, Haire’s most trau
matic call was a response
to a suicide on campus, he
still remembers that death
and it haunts him till this day.
On patrol down Lowder Milk, Hair re
flects on the time he was put in a life-
threatening situation on the grounds of
MC. “A few years back a deer had saw
its reflection in the window of the new
part of the library. I was called in when
the deer had broken through the window
and was trapped inside the library. For
about an hour I tried to coax the dear
out, he had broken one antler and was
bleeding pretty bad, I knew he could have
easily killed me if he wanted to.” Fortu
nately, Haire thought fast and opened a
door bringing in fresh air, the deer felt the
air and ran out; it was never seen from
again.
4:15 PM. While passing
Cumberland Hall a speeder burst trough
a stop sign doing well over 30-mph. This
is both dangerous and illegal. Officer
Haire pulls the vehicle over and explains,
“I can either issue a state ticket or a col
lege citation.” The driver gets lucky and
receives only a $25 citation. Contrary to
popular belief, Haire doesn’t sit around
and look to get people in trouble. Haire
explains, “my main purpose is to protect
students.” Hair enjoys student life here
on campus, “the majority of students here
are courteous and respectful, they are po
lite to me, and I give them the same re
spect.”
6:30 PM. Officer Hair’s shift is com
ing to an end. Haire explains how the ra
dar in his car works and we clock pass
ing vehicles. The 400-mega-
hertz Motorola radio calls in a
radio check while dusk falls on
the campus. Officer Haire has
had a long day at the office but
it’s all been worthwhile. Maybe
everything wasn’t perfect, but
it rarely is when you’re an of
ficer of the law. Officer Haire
drops me off at my car; I need
the time to get my thoughts to
gether before the next shift. I
watch as Haire's crtiiser fades
away into the distance, his day is over
but not done. There is a family waiting for
him at home, he will retire there tonight
and assume his other duties; husband, fa
ther, friend.
9:01 PM. The heated squad ciir
is a welcome relief from the cold. 1 be
gan my second shift with the Campus
Police and am greeted by Officer Charles
Peele, a man of great statue and integrity.
Since childhood Peele has dreamed of
becoming a police officer. Peele grew up
in Robersonville, NC and at the age of
18 joined the army. For 22yrs Peele re
sided in countries such as Greece, Tur
key, and his personal favorite, Italy. For
the past 14 years Peele has resided in
Fayetteville. After retirement from the
army Peele decided to fulfill his dreams
of becoming a police officer and attended
the Police Academy in 2000. Peele
worked as a Deputy for Cumberland
County, and while he misses the excite
ment of the streets he enjoys the atmo
sphere of the college campus. Like Of
ficer Haire, Peele is much more than just
a cop. During the day he is a fulltime stu
dent here at Methodist. Peele intends to
graduate next December with a degree
in criminal jastice. Peele is an active mem
ber at Parks Chapel Will Chapel where
he is both a Deacon and president of the
men’s choir. He has two daughters; 26
year old Alisa Renee who works as a
hairstylist. 15-year-old Christian lives in
Larton, Virginia with her mother and
dreams of becoming a journalist.
10:56 PM. We sit and clock speed
ers and watch for stop sign violators.
Peele reflects on his time as a police of
ficer here at Methodist. I asked him what
a good night would be here on patrol. “A
goodnight? We have lots ot good nights
here; a good night, the best night you can
hope for, is when nothing happens. When
you don’t have to stop anyone, no one
ams a stop sign, and there are no distur
bances on campus." Ju.st when 1 thought
it was going to be a ‘ 'gocxlnight'' a speeder
runs a stop sign doing over 27-mph. Ot-
ficer Peele hits the lights and we take oli
after him, we catch up to him in tlie Bums
parking lot. The three occupants in the
car appear to be nervous, officer Pcere
pursues with caution. He takes their li
cense and registration and retums to the
car without incident. I ask him if there was
any problem. “No, most people know
what they did wrong and are courteous.
Every now and then (he laughs) you get
someone who acts like they are surprised,
but they we what they did.”
12:02 AM. I sit with Officer Peele
and clock speeders. So far we have is
sued two situations and one verbal warn
ing; I find that Peele is more than fare in
his actions. We sit in the cruiser and trade
stories, Peele hopes to one day join the
SBI (Special Bureau of Investigation) or
maybe join the DMV as an inspector af
ter graduation. I look at the green dash
board clock; ray time with Peele is com
ing to close. Peele still h£K 7 more hours
on duty before he can get off before he
can go back to his life. If anything can be
said about officer Peele, it is this; No
matter where his life may take him, he
will make his dreams come tme.
»