The Cop Who Cares

By: Jayla Rediger

A look into the life of Tom Ulin, Loving Father, Grandpa, and caring cop. Can you imagine a world without people who care, without knowing that safety is just a phone call away? A place where if youre in danger, youre on your own. If we didnt have people such as policemen, thats the kind of world we would live in. Some people may see cops driving down the road. Pulling people over, giving people tickets, arresting people, empty-minded and selfish. Thats not all there is to it. Theres more to it than what people see. A lot of training and hard work goes into this dedicated job. Thats why I decided to interview my grandpa; Tom Ulin. It was a sunny day. We sat down in the living room. The little dog peering out the window, watching the birds soar by. My grandpa just had surgery two days before, with about 20 stitches on his hand, but still agreed to let me interview him. He first knew he wanted to be a cop when he was about 29 years old. I knew that I wanted to do something with the law, but I wasnt exactly sure what. he exclaimed. One day God put the idea in his mind to be a policeman. The idea stuck with him. So he talked with an old friend from highschool, who was a cop, about what it would take to become one himself. He soon joined the reserved deputies in 1986-1989. He wasnt done there. He wanted to be a full time deputy. Every weekend for six months he participated in the Cedar Rapids Reserved Acadamy. It was intense, he said. It may have been intense, but they also had their fun activities. They got to do high speed car chases. One time he got to do a building search with paint guns. He was marching up the stairs and when he turned around the sheriff pelted him right on top of the head with a paint ball. Then, for the next three months he went to the Iowa Law enforcement Academy

every week day. He memorized every law there is to know. Next came the intensified training. He learned everything you need to know about protecting people such as: how to shoot guns, rehearse pulling people over, how to correctly use a taser, pressure points, defensive tactics and much more. Then came the day he had to run through the building. He walked up to the big blue, dome shaped building, braced himself. Then he went for it. Tear-gas bombs being thrown at him, snot running down his face.The pain, excruciating and agonizing, filled his body. He could hear the explosive slamming against the ground, he could smell the atrocious aroma. He was as tough as nails, and finally made it to the end where he could hose himself off. In 1989 he was hired as a full time deputy for the Washington County Police Department. He was a strong arm of justice , and jumped right into it. To some people this may sound crazy, but he enjoyed the night shift better. "It's more exciting, and I'm not much of a morning person. he said with a chuckle. He would drive around in his police car at night, give a couple tickets and go to wherever his calls took him. One night he got a call to come to a little home because there was a 6 month old baby in critical condition. A man and his wife were hosting a small get together which was constantly interrupted by the crying baby. The step dad took the baby back to her bedroom to set her in her crib. He shook the baby out of frustration, shattering her brainstem. My grandpa was the first person to the scene. The baby was dangling silently in the mothers arms. He performed CPR on the child, for this was his first time. It was too late, there was nothing more he could do. Unsatisfied with himself, he labels this the worst case he ever dealt with. Though some cases may not end up the way he anticipated or hoped, there were some that ended up better than others, ones to be honored by. Like his interrogations. His confidence and intimidation made interrogating a natural talent of his. He did all kinds of

interrogations on crimes such as burglaries, domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse and many more. Every time he pulled someone over he did a mini interrogation. He even did interrogations on meth labs. He discovered four meth labs in his career; two in Nira, one in Kalona and one in Wellman. In fact he was the first policeman to find a meth lab in the entire Washington County.

Sometimes people make the wrong decision, and sometime people change. Every once in a while my grandpa would take his kids or wife to ride around with him in his cop car. One time in the small town of Wellman when my Grandma Carmela was riding with my grandpa she said Why dont you ever stop people with me in the car? Well Ill stop this person then. he said as a car swerved off the shoulder of the road. He blared his sirens and the car comes to an abrupt stop. The man got out of the car tipsy and all, with his ninemonth pregnant wife in the passengers seat. Tom knew the man was intoxicated right away, he asked for his license and gave him the sobriety test. Tom said that he was going to need to take him to the police station, but before he could even finish his sentence the man

grabbed his license and made a mad dash into the ditch. My grandpa chased after him and tackled him to the ground, he hit him up side the head with his flashlight. When he was trying to maneuver his head around so he could be handcuffed, the man bite onto Toms pointer finger, stubborn to let go. I thought about hitting him a second time with my flashlight, he said but I was afraid it would startle him and he would bite down harder. So he rotated his hand and thrusted his thumb into the mans eye. He could feel his eye oozing under his thumb. Then finally the man let out a wail, releasing Toms throbbing finger. In all the camotion Tom barely realized the man had bite off his fingernail whole. He then handcuffed the man and took him to jail. Afterwards he went to the hospital to get an x-ray for his finger. About 15 years later my grandpa got a call about a troubled kid. When he arrived at the house he realized the father was the man who bite off his fingernail. The entire time Tom was there the man repeatedly apologized over and over again. So the man may have made a poor decision, but he regretted his actions and Tom forgave him. There are many situations that turn out this way. For example, there was a man who did meth. He continued to make bad decisions, couldnt tell right from wrong. My grandpa never gave up on the man. Every time the man got in to trouble, my grandpa constantly treated him with kindness. Years later the man came up to my grandpa and told him that my grandpa showed him not to give up on himself. He got a good job and was clean of drugs. As they were chatting, my grandpa brought up that he was looking for a puppy to get his children. The man offered my grandpa a 1,000 dollar yorkie for only 75 bucks. My grandpa was so grateful and that little yorkie is the family pet we know today as Lucky. There were about 6-18 deputies on the force while Tom was a policeman. Whenever there was a real serious situation like domestics or a fight, two cops would handle the call together. My grandpa didnt have an official partner, but most of the time he was with Berl. Berl was kind of considered his partner. But Toms real partner in crime, was his flashlight.

Youd have to pry it out of his hands. It was my best weapon. he said. Other cops would have their taser, their pepper spray, or their gun, but my grandpa had his flashlight. He once nearly cracked a mans skull open with his flashlight during a fight. His flashlight now sits in a display case in his livingroom.

He didnt like to use his gun. Though his whole career he had to draw his gun about ten times. He labeled shooting someone as his biggest fear. He was never in a situation that forced him too. Sometimes he had to shot an animal like cows, deer, or dogs, to put them out of their misery. One Time he had to shoot a horse that had just been hit by a car, he felt terrible but he knew he had to do it. Although he came close, he never shoot somebody. Whats your proudest achievement I asked with curiosity. He sat there for a while, gazed off into space. Preparing his answer in his head. I saved a little girls life. he responded. He was the first person to the scene. A semi have just ran over a car, crushing it whole. In the car was a mother, her four year old daughter, and her one year old son. The mother and

little boy couldnt be saved, but little girl was in critical condition. My grandpa could have evaluated the scene closer to make certain that the girl needed air care, but he didnt hesitate. He called air care immediately. They arrived in minutes and flew the little girl to the emergency room. My grandma and grandpa would go visit her in the hospital. Today that little girl is 24 years old, she is healthy and and well. She lived with her dad and every once in a while my grandpa and her exchange christmas and birthday card. If my grandpa would have second guessed himself about making that call, this little girl wouldnt be alive today. If Tom wasnt a cop he would still want to have a job to protect people, like a firefighter or a prison guard. Now he spends his week days as a bus cop. Every weekday at 11:00 the bus driver goes around and picks up the preschoolers and my grandpa is in the back of the bus to keep the children contained. It was the first day on the job and all the kids got on the bus, my grandpa held up his badge and declared that he was the bus cop and they were all his little deputies. He assigned some of the kids different positions, like back-up bus cop when he is gone. Then the next day my grandpa brought all the kids police stickers and pencils. All the kids admire him as their bus cop as they create extraordinary memories on their way to school. Every once in awhile he would express to us a story of when he was a cop, funny things that have happened and why things turn out the way they do. I never really asked him a whole lot of questions though. This was an interesting way to learn about the great adventures he took. Im proud to know of all the heroic things he has accomplished, and to call him my grandpa. Tom Ulin, cherished and loved, is a hero.