By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
You wouldn't think a cell phone and radio could weigh so much.
But for Hays Police Department Deputy Chief Brian Dawson, they carried the weight of being the No. 2 at the department. They carried the weight of responsibility of each call and sacrifice he made in his 25 years on the Hays Police Department.
On Friday, he took his last radio call. He handed in his phone, radio and badge for the final time, retiring from a lifetime of service to his community.
Dawson, 55, came later in life to law enforcement. He joined the police department as a 30-year-old rookie.
As a young man, he dreamed of joining the FBI. At that time, several tracks could lead to a career in the federal agency. He decided he would attempt to join the FBI through the accounting track, so he started as an accounting major at Fort Hays State University.
However, he soon discovered accounting was not for him.
At that time, FHSU did not have a criminal justice major, so he changed his major to broadcast communications with a minor in sociology with an emphasis in criminology.
After graduation, he had the opportunity to spend a summer as a counselor and ski instructor at a boy's summer camp, Camp Caribou in Bangor, Maine.
That gave him some experience working with youth, which would continue to be a theme throughout his career.
He worked in substance abuse prevention in Salina before returning to Hays, where he grew up, to work as a community consultant for the Ellis County Community Partnership, which was housed in the Smoky Hill Foundation.
He worked in drug and alcohol prevention, often working with youth.
He also worked with a state-funded tobacco cessation program and promoted the Red Ribbon Campaign and Great American Smokeout.
"A big part of my job was to get together with community leaders and get some funds and make sure there were alternative things for kids to do other than go have a pasture party or keg party," Dawson said. "And that we had good protective factors in the community."
Dawson, at 30, joined the Hays Police Department as a patrol officer. He described himself as a "late bloomer." When he started, he took a $3 an hour pay cut from his job working for the community partnership.
"That's where everyone starts," he said. ... "Nobody starts out as a detective. Nobody starts off as a captain. You have to start out as an officer and understand the laws and that protect and serve part, and then move up through the ranks through all of the different avenues."
Dawson was promoted after a little more than a year as a patrol officer to a school resource officer, a position he served in for nine and a half years.
Initially, he served all the schools in the school district. Then, a second school resource officer was hired.
Dawson said some officers prefer to work with older youth, but he also liked giving presentations to the elementary-age students.
"I just really liked being in the schools," he said. "I really liked being in the classroom, whether I was doing a presentation on the topic of search and seizure, or I got asked into a married life class. I got asked into the English class when they were reading 'Romeo and Juliet,' so I slipped in what is referred to as the Romeo and Juliet law, which is unlawful voluntary sexual relations."
Unlawful voluntary sexual relations is sex perpetrated by an offender who is 18 years old or younger with a victim who is 14 or 15 years old.
"I told them what their responsibilities were—that at age 10, they could be arrested. At age 14, they could be interviewed without an attorney or parent being present," he said.
He said he tried to help the students see the officer in the uniform is a person too.
"We are here to serve and help them," Dawson said. "They're my boss, and I'm here to help them be successful."
Dawson said he was disappointed when the school resource officer program was disbanded in Hays, but delighted in 2023 when it was resurrected.
He said being an SRO was the best of both worlds.
During the summers, he worked patrol.
"I really liked the evening shift," Dawson said. "Otherwise, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon in the middle of July, your boots are melting into asphalt while doing an accident report. All that heavy gear is just not comfortable and not fun.
"I liked night shift. It's a little different clientele and different calls on night shift, even in Hays, compared to doing a stranger danger class with 5-year-olds. I got to bone back up on my DUI skills. I was super fortunate that I got to do all of that."
He became a member of the tactical team. He was first an operator and worked his way up to being a negotiator and assistant team leader.
"It's not like the movies," Dawson said. "You don't hit reset and have a different outfit and a different car next week and a different story. It's real life."
"You feel a sense of pride knowing you were on the team," he said.
Dawson said working on the tactical team involves officers in volatile situations in which people can get hurt or killed.
Being a negotiator takes a totally different mindset, he said. A negotiator is trying to buy time to help things settle down and reach a peaceful conclusion.
"It's extremely challenging and can be extremely frustrating," he said.
Dawson was promoted to patrol lieutenant in 2010 and to assistant chief in 2011.
He said he felt great satisfaction if he could help someone.
"In this job, you see people at their best and at their worst. As a human being, that's tough. You try to serve and do the best you can in those situations. Training helps."
Responding to deaths was one aspect of the job that caught him off guard as a new patrol officer.
"We've done a number of death notifications, and you never walk away from one of those feeling you knocked that out of the park," he said. "You would like to think they get easier, but they don't. To tell someone they lost their kid, those are challenging.
"Even if it is natural causes, we are the ones that go and check and make sure it's natural causes. We are the ones who have to put hands on the body and remove the body with assistance from the people from the mortuary.
"I hadn't seen a lot of death to that point. I had a kind of sheltered life. It's something you don't think about. I thought, 'Boy, I wish they would have mentioned something more about that in the academy and prepared me for that."
He said police officers see things no one else sees and do things that no one else does.
"There's stress. There's a lot of responsibility. At 5:30, it's not over. It's not over on the weekends. It's not over at night. It's not over on holidays," Dawson said. "I'm looking forward to getting rid of this phone and this radio and carrying the responsibility.
"There's things that you can't share with your family or your spouse," he said. "There's things you don't want to share with your family. You miss some events with the family."
Despite the sacrifices, he said he has been truly blessed to have great co-workers and a great community to work in.
"You can't make up what you see and get to experience," Dawson said. "It can be challenging at times. But I'm so fortunate because it's such a great community."
Dawson's last day with the police department was Friday. He and his wife are planning to move to Florida, where they will be living closer to Dawson's brother. They plan to enjoy the outdoors and go on some cruises.
Lt. Tim Greenwood's promotion to deputy chief was announced Tuesday.
SEE RELATED STORY: New Deputy Chief of Police in Hays announced