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Phoenix reserve officers happy to stay Monday Oct 10, 2016 at 12:01 AM Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune A couple of new Phoenix reserve police officers may be around longer than most reserves. Reserves often join the department to get experience while they keep an eye out for a full-time job with another agency, said Chief Derek Bowker. Stability in the department’s ranks means there isn’t often a chance to join the nine-officer force. Kevin Miller and Teddy Rose are the newest reserve officers. Both indicated they are in no hurry to move on. Miller is a disabled Air Force veteran who wants to give back to the community and can only work limited hours for health reasons. Rose has a full-time job in the justice outreach office at the Veterans Affairs Department’s Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics in White City. “It’s just the camaraderie and the brotherhood that goes along with (the department) that I’m kind of missing from the military,” said Rose, who spent 10 years in the Marine Corps. He’s also taking criminology classes at Rogue Community College. Miller was a reserve officer for 14 years in the John Day area after being in the Air Force four years. He also served in the Air National Guard for six years. “You get to serve the community and help out as you can,” said Miller. “I love doing it. If I hadn’t gotten a disability from the Air Force, I would have gone into full-time law enforcement.” Bowker doesn’t begrudge reserves going to larger departments. Pay is usually better, and there are more opportunities, such as detective, motor officer or canine work available if someone doesn’t want to spend a career patrolling. “We’re proud when an officer leaves here. The chief at Central Point, Kris Allison, started as a reserve here,” said Bowker. “We select really good people, and they are able to move on and move up at other agencies.” Two reserve officers, Matthew Curtis and William DeKruger, were recently sworn in to the regular force and will be attending the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem. The openings came up when two regular officers joined the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in May. Since becoming chief in 2008, Bowker has seen just two resignations from officers who moved on to other positions. The school resource officer retired from the force 18 months ago. Besides Phoenix, only Central Point and Talent have reserve programs in Jackson County. Participants must complete a reserve officer academy program at RCC before they become part of the force. Once sworn in, they undergo firearms and field training and learn to use the law enforcement data system. Reserves usually see duties at events such as parades and ballgames and ride along with regular officers during patrols. Phoenix can have a maximum of five reserves, but usually the number is three or four, said Bowker. “Being able to ride with the full-time guys as a backup, that helps, plus there’s the safety,” said Miller. “It’s always good to have someone along as part of the community.” Reserve officers patrol by themselves only when they reach the highest of three levels, which requires an additional 400 hours of schooling beyond completion of the reserve academy. Phoenix has no reserves in that highest category. — Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].