news1@ulyssesnews.com
Joining the Ulysses Police Department was natural for Elvin Rodriguez. The Johnson-native, now in his fourth year with the UPD, has a family connection to the Ulysses Police Department.
His brother Ivan is the canine handler.
“I looked up to him and he showed me the right path and now I’ve been here for about three years,” Rodriguez said.
He said it‘s “very cool” working with his older brother.
“It’s a good feeling just seeing your brother, especially when we’re working the same shift and he does a traffic stop or I do a traffic stop, it’s a nice feeling,” Rodriguez added.
Rodriguez said officers in Ulysses have a chance to interact more with the community in a more positive manner than many other communities.
“In the last three years I’ve been here, I’ve never had any issues,” Rodriguez said. “They’ve all shown their support, especially the kids when walking the schools. The little kids see us like superheroes.”
But it’s not just little kid superhero worship, most in the Ulysses community support law enforcement.
“We really appreciate that,” he added.
One of the cool things about being an officer in Ulysses has been the opportunity to work with Federal agencies.
“I’ve had the opportunity to go to trainings,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve had the opportunity, and my chief has given me, to do, whenever we have parades or children’s safety or Halloween, we get to wear a mask, that way we can scare the kids and have fun with them; give out candy.
“Those are the fun moments where we get to see the public and talk to everybody.”
But it’s not all fun, Ulysses does have crime.
“The common thing that every town has – drugs, all that stuff,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a small town, but it is a big town at the same time. We have the same crimes as other cities do.
“It has its ups and downs but, hey, I love it, I enjoy it.”
And as for the future, he wants to “Just keep moving forward.”
To nominate a law enforcement officer, firefighter, EMS, hospital worker – any first responder – contact news1@ulyssesnews.com or call 620-356-1201. All those nominated are eligible for Responder of the Month and Responder of the Year.
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