Brothers Sworn In as Police Officers

Prepped and ready for duty, Sam and Steve Arroyo on Thursday became the first brothers to be sworn in to the Ventura Police Department.

The pair, former baseball standouts who still live with their parents in Saticoy, were also the only two who remained of the 364 men and women who first inquired about joining the force in January 1995, said Sgt. Ted Prell of the department’s training and community services section.

“When you think that of all the guys that applied and that the only two that end up getting sworn in come from the same family, that really says something about how we were raised,” said Steve.

In the audience at the swearing-in ceremony were the brothers’ parents, Marie and Jess Arroyo, and 17-year-old brother, David. David said he also is interested in law enforcement, but he would rather join the FBI.

To get to this point, Steve, 27, and Sam, 24, had to go through a maze of physical and mental tests: to gauge how they dealt with pressure and dealt with people, to see how far and how fast they could run, to see whether they could carry a wounded buddy out of harm’s way.

“It wasn’t too difficult,” Sam said. “We’re both pretty athletic, so we didn’t have a problem with the physical stuff. The other stuff was pretty much like any job interview.”

Except that most job interviews do not include a months-long look into your past. As part of the process, the brothers’ pasts were scrutinized to look for character flaws, criminal records or some sign that they might not measure up to be officers, Prell said.

“We found out there are no skeletons in our closet,” Steve said.

Only after they got past all those obstacles did they qualify to attend the 24-week Police Academy in Camarillo, where, among other things, they were trained to handle weapons and a patrol cruiser.

The brothers said that apart from a little sibling rivalry, attacking the challenge together made things easier.

“It was a big help,” said Sam. “We were closer to each other and we automatically had someone to talk to about what happened through the day. We could laugh about stuff.”

Their rivalry also helped, because it gave them someone to compete against, Steve said.

And in the end, getting to swear in to the department next to his brother made him proud, he said.

Both Steve and Sam grew up in Saticoy, graduated from Buena High School and attended Ventura College. Steve went on to study at Sonoma State, graduating with a degree in criminal justice in 1992, and Sam graduated from Cal Lutheran last year with a business degree.

Both were standout baseball players in high school and college.

“We’re used to playing sports, and joining the department is like that,” Steve said. “It’s like being part of a team. “