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�Coolest cop� enjoys work at park Mail Tribune/Jim Craven Photo By Jessica Smith That guy over there? The one in the blue shirt and black shorts? The one who rides a bike instead of a board? "He�s cool," says Tucker Jocham, a 9-year-old Jacksonville Elementary School third-grader who�s a regular at Medford�s skateboard park. "He�s nicer than any of the other guys," adds Mike Coryer, 13, a Hedrick Middle School seventh-grader. "He�s the coolest cop." R.J. Josephson grins. Josephson, who�s graduating this year from Southern Oregon University�s criminology department, is a Medford Police Department community service officer who patrols Bear Creek Park. It�s his job to keep peace between boarders and in-line skaters and to make sure everyone wears a helmet. He even calls moms and asks them to bring their kids lunch, Tucker marvels. Josephson, 22, says he enjoys the big-brother relationships he�s forged with younger skaters like Tucker. "He�s always coming up and asking for candy or a sticker or if he can ride my bike," Josephson says of Tucker, whose freckles and shyness disguise the fact that he�s a skating dynamo. "Some of these little kids skate circles around the older guys," Josephson adds. "It�s neat to watch." Just don�t count on Josephson to join them. "The kids are always asking me how come I don�t have a skateboard out here. ... I�d have to be out in the flat part or stay in the parking lot if I did," says Josephson, who admits he wasn�t much of a skater as a kid growing up in Eagle Point. Still, since the park opened, Josephson says he�s learned a bit about skating. It�s hard to get out of the deep bowl when you crash. Protecting your toes is crucial. It�s OK to fall � just make sure you get up and get rolling. Josephson, who lives in Ashland with his wife, Lisa, and their 5-month-old son, Brian Andrew, is using the experience to earn a final practicum credit at SOU. He also hopes the gig will help him find a job as a police officer. Josephson is getting plenty of practice at working with children and making them understand the rules, he says. So far, he hasn�t had much cause to break out the long arm of the law. "R.J.�s been good at being their friend at the skate park and making sure there�s no trouble," says Medford Lt. Tim George. "He�s got a good way with the kids." Police have issued four citations and made one arrest since the park opened, George says. There�s also been a few instances of graffiti, which devout skaters have helped remove. Having a police presence at the park likely prevents crime, but George and Josephson say the skaters also monitor themselves. "The kids kind of police themselves when people start acting goofy," Josephson adds. "That�s what�s nice about this park � it shows the community these are good kids." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA