In October 2022, about 100 people, including many children, dipped their hands in red, blue, green, and yellow washable paint to decorate an Atlantic (Iowa) Police Department (APD) squad car with their palm prints. They were invited to do this as part of the APD’s Lend A Hand event, which was held in the city’s park during the festivities preceding the annual Fire Prevention Week parade. Later in the day, the gaily decorated car led the parade of fire trucks from all the fire departments in Cass County and surrounding areas.

To add to the fun, the APD asked for photos of kids decorating the car, promising that the child in the photo who got the most “likes” on the department’s Facebook page would win a ride to school in the handprinted car. As can be seen in this month’s winning photo, Dezlyn Smith, the lucky winner, was delighted to be driven to preschool in the colorful squad card with APD Chief Devin Hogue at the wheel.

Asked what prompted the Lend A Hand event, Chief Hogue said, “I saw something similar in Davenport, Iowa, and thought it was an awesome idea. It’s a good visual for communicating the message that we need to work together to uphold public safety and order, that everybody needs to lend a hand because we can’t do it alone. It’s a team effort.

“One of our goals is to build good relations with the children of our community too,” he adds. “Offering a child the chance to ride to school in a patrol vehicle that has their handprint on it is not an experience Dezlyn will soon forget.

“The event and its message were very well received. Many people said they enjoyed participating and got a kick out of seeing our vehicle lead the parade. We also heard a lot about the ’friendly’ vibe the vehicle had when we left the paint on for a couple of days after the parade.”

A small-town agency that makes the most of all resources

The seat of Iowa’s Cass County, a rural area home to several hundred farms, the city of Atlantic is roughly midway between Des Moines, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. To serve the city’s approximately 7,000 residents, the APD has 12 sworn officers and two office personnel.

Because of the agency’s size, all APD officers must be proficient in multiple areas of law enforcement. Some also have specialized training in areas such as drug enforcement, evidence collection, mental health, child abuse, and sexual assault.

Chief Hogue is in charge of firearms training for the department, which is typically provided in collaboration with the sheriff’s office. He is also a certified computer voice stress analyst, trained in the use of a computer application that enables truth verification during interviews. Since 2020, he has also been the leader of the Cass County Drone Team, which the APD employs for search and rescue operations, apprehension of suspected perpetrators, and a variety of other tasks.

“We’ve sent our drone into situations and buildings when we were not sure if there were firearms or where a dangerous person was located. We also do a lot of accident documentation from an aerial view, which allows us to get one large picture of the overall area.

“To assist the fire department, we use thermal imaging to see hot spots in structural fires from an aerial view. One of the very first incidents the thermal drone was used for was by a deputy, and he helped locate and corral cattle that had gotten loose near Interstate 80 during the overnight hours.

“We have great working relationships with all the agencies in the county and surrounding areas,” Chief Hogue adds. “If we have a need for additional personnel to respond to a crime or investigation, we collaborate with the sheriff’s office or other surrounding law enforcement agencies, morphing into one agency. We also work closely with all the fire and EMT [emergency medical technician] personnel, as well as the medical and mental health departments of the Cass Health system. This is especially helpful because of the rise in mental health calls.

“Through Heartland Family Services, we can access telehealth professionals while in our patrol car to connect people on calls to therapists. The telehealth professionals will work on a safety plan, de-escalation, resources, and establish a plan for ongoing contact without our having to take the individual to the hospital.”

Reserve officers expand the force when needed

Another APD force multiplier is its reserve officers, who work part time or as needed, providing a wide variety of services from executing a search warrant to responding to calls. To become Iowa certified reserve officers, they must have completed a full series of module training—including precision driving training, report writing, and providing medical attention—within 18 months of joining the reserves. Reserve officers receive firearms training in the department and must have qualifying shooting scores to carry a firearm.

Though reserve officers work on a volunteer basis, the department subsidizes their professional needs through fundraisers. This year, they will be the recipient of funds raised through the First Responders Golf Tournament at the Atlantic Golf and Country Club. This tournament has been a yearly event for the last eight years and has benefited the drone program as well as family-friendly events in the park hosted by the Cass County first responders.

Said Chief Hogue, “Our reserves are an auxiliary force, seven men and women from the community who we can call or text if we know we are going to need extra hands. They are a recruitment tool as well—three of our present officers started as reserves—and are at the heart of our various community programs.”

Family Dream Christmas and other community programs

The department sponsors a wide variety of community events throughout the year. But the month of December brings two of the biggest and best known: Family Dream Christmas and Shop with a Cop.

Held on a Saturday early in the month and supported entirely by APD reserve officers, Family Dream Christmas ensures that eight to 12 local families who have fallen on hard times can still have a happy holiday.

Reserve members read applications from residents who describe their needs and select as many families as they can help, pairing each one with a reserve member who takes them shopping.

The local car dealership donates the use of vans for driving the families all over town to get items they need. A local shoe store is always a first stop for winter boots or new shoes. After shopping, each family also gets a ham or turkey with all the fixings in a box for Christmas dinner. A few more families are selected to walk through the APD’s donated toy room to pick out holiday gifts for their children.

Shop with a Cop is another holiday program. It’s held at Walmart, where about 35 kids go Christmas shopping with APD officers, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, Iowa State Patrol Troopers, Iowa Department of Natural Resources game wardens, and members of the Southwest Iowa Chaplains Association—all of whom donate their time to make it a happy holiday for these children. Shop with a Cop and Family Dream Christmas are both supported through local donations.

Though their programs have changed over time, the APD and their reserves have given back to their community during the holiday season for more than 20 years. In 2022 alone, their two December programs assisted 73 children and 20 adults from 27 different families. In the last 10 years, these programs have helped more than 650 children and 200 adults from 250 families.

Commenting on the generous spirit of APD employees, Chief Hogue said “Though we haven’t been fully staffed since November of 2021 and have had more calls and been busier, the dedication and positive attitude of our people has been tremendous.

“And even though they are busier, they still enthusiastically support community programs which mostly happen on their time off. They give up their free time to make sure these things happen.”

Faye C. Elkins
Sr. Technical Writer
COPS Office

Images Courtesy of Atlantic (Iowa) Police Department.

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