As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a policeman. I trace it back to around age six-ish, daily observing NYPD cops patrolling the neighborhood, tacitly envisioning myself in a blue uniform, helping others through tough times and dire circumstances.
Achieving my childhood dream took me far longer due to life circumstances that recurringly hindered advancement.
Today, I came across a similar experience of a youngster from a foreign country who endured life’s trials and tribulations yet kept his eye on the prize. He harbored his childhood dream to be a cop and never lost focus on fulfilling his “calling” despite the odds against him.
(Photo courtesy of the Louisville Metro Police Department.)
In Louisville, Kentucky, a teenager from Germany who “always wanted to be a police officer” found himself in true tests of grit and determined focus to achieve his aspiration of being a law enforcement officer…no matter the severe lack of resources to get it all accomplished.
You see, this young man did what most would dare not do: He stepped out in faith, took a grand leap flying solo from Germany to the United States and relied on unfamiliar faces who provided basic resources (“It takes a village”), some of whom ghosted him, and did scut work such as scrubbing toilets at a basketball camp in a rural setting in exchange for shelter and meager means.
Instead of indulging in his love of basketball, he supported an organized basketball team’s players by maintaining their athletic facilities, “a servant to the kids who had the money to be there.”
(Photo courtesy of the Louisville Metro Police Department.)
Like most future cops, doing whatever needs to be done in the interim is what they are all about. The calling keeps on whispering Keep going! Stay focused! Keep pushing! Increase physical conditioning! Eat healthy!
He listened and stayed the course to be a cop…
“Don’t give up and keep a smile on your face!” Those are the words from present-day police Officer Dan Marsden, a member of the Louisville Metro Police Department’s (LMPD) Sixth Division.
Per a Louisville Metro Police spokesperson, Officer Marsden “moved to America alone as a teenager without knowing anyone here and no place to stay when he arrived. He quickly figured out how to survive and ended up graduating with TWO college degrees [one in counseling, the other in theology]. He always wanted to be a police officer since he was a child and went on to make his dream a reality.
“Officer Marsden has faced a lot of challenges and says you can overcome obstacles with hard work.”
As Officer Marsden candidly admitted, he “was a homeless teenager his first day in the United States.”
Since a picture paints a thousand words, Officer Marsden portrays an illustration of a young boy in a foreign country doing whatever it takes to climb until his pinnacle moment —his calling— comes to fruition:
I have been studying the earlier journeys of people from all walks of life who eventually became law enforcement officers…and how it morphed into a fulfilling career in which every day is notably precarious yet infused with glorious episodes of doing God’s work.
Despite the waft of pollution otherwise known as the anti-police harangues, individuals of various ages and from all corners of the country step forward and say I do! in response to duly recognizing constitutional covenants and stewardships to the public.
And that’s what makes Officer Marsden even more special: He glimpsed an unrealistic yet possible pathway from afar, not one of the traditional “corners” referenced above. With the vast geographical space and cultural differences between Germany and America, this young man hit the pavement and didn’t look back, culminating in a transcontinental calling to be a cop.
(Photo courtesy of the Louisville Metro Police Department.)
It’s All Relative
Although it is not necessarily trumpeted aloud or advertised across the side of a city bus, law enforcement officers bring to The Job life experiences which may have been the compelling factors predestining success in a career as a first responder, serving many in dire need of protection…bringing to the table a vat chock full of empathy and understanding via hard-knock experiences that were endured personally.
Several times, I listened to the brief video of Officer Marsden’s unorthodox journey and how he endured until his calling to be a cop came to fruition.
I heard him talk of prejudice…which he overcame by knowing his capabilities and using them to manifest his goal(s).
I heard him speak of having faith in God…signifying the calling to be one of His peacekeepers.
I heard him declare being let down by people who made promises, forging forward, undeterred by disappointments.
I heard him speak his truth until he found a chair at the public safety table.
I saw him performing laboriously in the Louisville community, giving back more than what was provided to him when he arrived on US soil, alone, without resources, having no idea where he would rest his head.
I saw him exude joy as a cop in a land where he was not born, like others who legally arrived in America, exuded appreciation for the freedoms, and pinned a justice badge to enforce constitutional provisions for others.
I saw a humbled man who refused to consider an about-face and go back to ground zero in Germany.
As a field training officer back in the day, I made it a priority to not only teach recruits about policing but to get to know them: Who they are, where they’re from (literally and experientially), offering one of my own childhood traumas as a peace-pipe gesture to forge mutual understanding.
I always considered that the living years leading up to the police academy is the academy, overcoming difficulties and finding solutions to dilemmas well before seasoned drill instructors barked at the brow.
With that said, all due respect to Officer Marsden and the others just like him who went through dark valleys before seeing a shiny badge meant for him.
Anyone catch the words “Newcomer Academy” on the building in the backdrop depicted in the video footage above, showing a boisterous-to-be-here Officer Marsden?
Via some commenters who seem familiar with Officer Marsden, we learn that he is a church youth pastor and is well-liked by many who have had the opportunity to meet/engage with him.
Many folks underscored how he did not employ excuses but traveled the transcontinental divide until he arrived in a foreign land, worked hard, stayed focused, achieved his objective, and is humbly grateful for the surreal journey.
His calling deserves him. The citizens of Louisville have another slugger among them, one who knows how to round the bases until he crosses home plate.
One can imagine a litany of life lessons he continues to share with younger people who hear their calling and seek a beacon to draw them closer to the goal, namely serving the public as a law enforcement officer.
As Officer Marsden defined: “If it’s just a job, take another job. But if it tugs on your heart and you want to do this [be a cop], I say go for it 100%. This country, this police department, every other police department, needs people from other countries and other cultures, to come and represent the community and make the community safer.”
We’ve all experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly. Officer Marsden is no exception…
He revealed discriminatory experiences with him being the target of arrogant people. Again, he maintains turning things around for the good of all: “People will come around you and see that fight, see that you’re not giving up, and they will want to help you…”
He is now one of those people seeking to help others, like other cops who answered the calling.
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