Band of Brothers and Sisters -- LASD Reserve Bureau

The U.S. Army Military Troops motto, “Of the troops for the troops, aptly defines what the Los Angeles Sheriff Department’s Deputy Reserve Bureau has evolved into. Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station Reserve Chief Deputy Mike Leum relays what Sheriff Lee Baca said at a recent posse (mounted patrol) dinner. “The genesis for the reserve program goes back to the 1800s when the local, lone sheriff had to seek out ordinary citizens and deputize them in order to get the bad guys and bring them to justice.”

Leum explains with a more significant shift, “There was a misconception that if a reserve was out on duty, the regular deputy was not getting paid. The reserve is always an addition to the regular patrol duties so we’re not taking anybody’s job. The great example of how far we’ve come is that A.L.A.D.S. (Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs) came to the reserves and worked out a great cooperative agreement between volunteers and paid staff this year. Reserves can now get paid $27/hr to go out on patrol after their regular volunteer time is in. That takes the over-time load off of regular deputies who are tapped out in their hours. It’s a big testimony to the confidence level that the rest of the department has in the reserves and the work they perform as well.” Result: Burn-out issues decrease while safety measures are increased.

An admitted adrenaline junkie (his off time is spent doing triathlons or doing Alcatraz swims), Leum has worked as a reserve for the past 14 years at the Crescenta Valley Station. That’s his volunteer night gig. During the day, Mike’s 40-hour-a-week civilian job has been at STARS Center in Whittier, which trains the paid deputies (College of the Canyons is another training sight). He says, “The interesting thing about the reserve forces is that it’s similar to a microcosm of our own little police department. We recruit, hire [have our own background investigators like on the regular side], train separately and have our own reserve academy to train.”

Reserves consist of highly educated and successful people. The cross section runs from electricians to hotel owners. LAPD may have Shaq, but LASD has The Incredible Hulk’s Lou Ferrigno.

With 760 reserves, 25 operating out of the Crescenta Valley station, there’s always a need for new recruits.

Training is a twenty-week commitment consisting of weekly sessions of two nights and one weekend day (EMT school and licensing is additional for Search and Rescue teams) as well as a thorough background check. All this for the lofty wage of $1/yr. “People who do this work are fulfilling a burning desire they’ve had to be a part of law enforcement and want to do something important in their community by serving,” Leum explains. He continues, “Search and Rescue takes fitness very seriously. If there is someone lost out in a blizzard and they’re 500 feet above where you are, we don’t want that to get in the way of the task at hand. Recertification takes place every two years to maintain your position. Special Enforcement Bureau, Emergency Services Detail (ESD) men and women fly on the helicopter full time; they’re a very elite unit of people.”

Search and Rescue had an incident that involved a lost 50-year-old hiker several years ago. The man did three things wrong: He left home alone, didn’t tell anyone where he was going, and went hiking in hazardous weather conditions. The rescue team paired with ESD to locate the injured hiker and carry him out. The victim was found with no radial pulse and advanced stages of hypothermia, but today he’s alive and well. ESD has paramedics, so the two teams worked in tandem to save the man’s life. Leum considers the combination of ESD and SAR (Search and Rescue) teams to have the most comprehensive medical personnel working together in the country. An added bonus is that helicopters frequently have a volunteer doctor aboard during emergencies.

Although the warm, fuzzy stories of animals or people that are saved far outweigh the tragedies of infants who die in cars going over cliffs, Leum is quick to point out that prevention is the key to most disastrous situations.

In 2000, a JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab) van careened off the Angeles Forest Highway, killing three and leaving eight passengers injured. The winding Angeles Forest Highway has been coined “The Palmdale 500” because the commuter shortcut between Los Angeles and Antelope Valley has drivers using the highway as a racetrack, often fatally.

Leum ends with, “Sheriff Baca has brought this down to a very personal level. His focus for us is to be inclusive, to reach out into the community and to make people aware of the opportunities and for those who want to be a part of it. We do everything to make that opportunity happen for them. We have a very large emphasis on customer service. If someone wants to do this full time and get paid to do it, they’re treated in a certain manner because they’re lucky and will get paid to do law enforcement, whereas with volunteers, we’re lucky to have them. They’re away from their families and jobs to do this.”

The average tenure of a reserve is 15 years. “I’m doing this till they tell me I can’t any more,” Chief Deputy Leum says with a smile.

To learn more on becoming a part-time deputy, full-time hero, visit their web site at www.lasdreserve.org.