BADGE OF HONOR: VOLUNTEER POLICE OFFICERS SERVE THE COMMUNITY

Principal David Giles keeps order in the halls of the Alma Schrader Elementary School. Rick Fehr heads the security division at the St. Francis Medical Center. David Freeman delivers pool tables for Newman Amusement Inc.

What could these three men have in common? The answer becomes clear as they shed the trappings of their daily lives and don the navy blue uniform of the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

Giles, Fehr and Freeman are reserve police officers, serving in an organization as rich with history as it is with diversity within its officers.

Giles has been a member of the police reserves for 26 years. He joined at age 21, when the group was still known as the police auxiliary.

"I was still in college when I joined," said Giles. "I guess my interest (in law enforcement) was piqued initially by just exploring some career opportunities. I was -- and still am -- extremely intrigued by it all."

So intrigued that he now serves as the assistant chief for the police reserve, beneath Reserve Chief Walt Westrich.

The Cape Girardeau Police Reserves formally came into existence in 1955, when it was known as the police auxiliary.

The city tapped the VFW and the American Legion posts in the city for the first cadre of reservists. At the same time, the city government assembled an ordinance that brought the reserves into official existence.

The auxiliary changed in function in the mid-1960s, when members were allowed many of the same powers as are vested into full-time police officers.

In 1974, the name of the group was officially changed to the police reserve.

"At that time, we had an authorized strength of 75 officers, although we only had 45-50 in the reserve," said Giles.

The Missouri state legislature was the next to redefine the purpose and duties of the reserve, by passing legislation stating that members of a reserve police force are those who work less than full time. Otherwise, their duties as peace offices were to equal those of full-time officers.

The only major difference between a full-time officer and a reserve officer is that the latter serves without pay. The city provides uniforms and sidearms for the reserve officers, as well as insures them as they work, but they are not paid a dime for their time.

"Volunteer law enforcement used to be very common in the United States," said Giles. "But now they are becoming less and less common."

Today, there are about 20 commissioned officers in the department's reserves.

Giles considers himself a liaison between the community he serves as an educator and the department he serves as an officer.

"The cynic has a hard time sometimes looking at a volunteer, always questioning his motive for his acts of service," said Giles. "I like to think that reserve officers are people of the highest character who enjoy a unique position in the community.

"It's like being a member of an exclusive club."

In those periods of time when he is functioning as a police officer, Giles said he transforms into that person, as if he were changing roles in a play.

"I have continued to follow police work throughout my career as an educator," said Giles. "I still have an intense curiosity about the whole profession."

Another member of the reserves satisfied his curiosities as a police officer -- a profession to which he hopes to return some day.

Fehr, director of security and communications at the St. Francis Medical Center, worked as a full-time Cape Girardeau police officer for seven and a half years.

He left his work with the city to take the position at St. Francis, but Fehr missed the allure of law enforcement.

"It gets into your blood and you can't lose the feeling you get when you're out on the streets," said Fehr. "For me, police work is the best job in the world; it's unfortunate that it doesn't pay better.

"I really miss active law enforcement," he continued. "At the end of the day, you get a personal satisfaction that you just can't get from other areas of work."

Capt. Stephen Strong of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said reserve officers must fit the same qualifications as full-time officers.

"(Reserves) fill out identical applications and go through the exact same screening process as do the full-time officers," said Strong. "It is not easy to become a reserve officer."

As it should be, Strong continued, because reserves have served in virtually every capacity in which a full-time law enforcement officer could serve. In fact, reserve officer Herbert Goss was killed in the line of duty in 1962.

"Now our reserves primarily work at special events, parades and back up the bailiff on court nights," said Strong. "On our busier nights -- mainly on weekends -- they will come in and ride with full-time officers, allowing us to have two-man cars in our more active zones."

While on duty, the reserve officers have full police power, but always work with a full-time officer, Strong said.

"They have taken the same oath as have our full-time officers, " said Strong. "Unless you look closely at their badges, reserve officers look just like full-time officers when they are out on the street."

Some of the reserve officers see their service as a civic duty to the community. Others filter through the organization, gaining experience to move on to full-time police positions.

Such is the case with Freeman, who completed the Missouri police officer certification in 1991, with aspirations to become a full-time officer.

"I've learned a lot about the law and what is required of a police officer on the street and in the station," said Freeman. "There is a lot of paperwork that has to be done with this job. Even as a reserve, we get a share of the paperwork thrown our way."

But when he's not in the station filling out form after seemingly endless form, Freeman said he gets a real charge out of riding shotgun in the patrol cars.

"When you're riding around in a patrol car and you hear the alert tones go off on the radio, you're adrenaline shoots up," said Freeman. "It's also a nice feeling when you know you've helped someone or that you've taken a bad person off the streets."

Since Freeman is on call with his day-job at all hours, he usually rides at night -- from about 8 p.m. until daybreak.

"That's when they need us most," said Freeman.

"They really have a great bunch of officers working here," he continued. "Some day, I hope to get hired on full time in Cape Girardeau. I don't want to work anywhere else. That's just how I feel."

Freeman is not alone in his aspirations. At least 10 full-time officers currently employed by the Cape Girardeau Police Department were once reserve officers.

Such is the case of Officer Mark Weldon, who worked as a deputy sheriff in Jefferson County before moving to Cape Girardeau to take a position as an assistant gymnastics coach at Southeast Missouri State University.

"I was working as a coach and realized that I missed law enforcement more than I though I would," Weldon said. "So I joined the reserves, thinking it would suffice my need to be involved in police work."

It did, for a while at least, he said. But in July 1990, Weldon was hired full time with the city's police department.

"I sometimes miss coaching," he said. "But only until I get my paycheck."

Veteran officers Dan Niswonger, Charles Herbst, Brian Ritter, Kelly Kenser, Ike Hammonds and Ron Webb were all moved up from the reserves at one point or another.

"Our current police chief started out in the reserves," Strong said. "It's good training ground for young men who want to become police officers."

To move up to full-time status, a reserve officer has to reapply and re-test for the position.

"Naturally, reserves have an advantage in the application process, in that they are familiar with the procedures and protocol around the department," said Strong. "In addition, we have had an opportunity to look at them perform in the field."

Strong said that a major qualification the department looks for in accepting a new reserve officer is strong community ties.

"That is one of the reasons we have had a large number of officers that were at one time former reserves," said Strong.

"We've had people from all walks of life serve with the reserve force," said Strong. "It takes more than a criminal justice degree and Missouri certification as a peace officer to get on the reserves.

"We have some very dedicated people who have put a lot of hours into performing a very valuable service to the community, at little cost to the city," he said. "The people we have serving in the reserves is that many more people to back our police force."