Platte City recently welcomed two new police officers to its police force: a former DeKalb Countian who wanted to fly jets and a fresh-faced academy graduate who knew she was born to be a police officer.
Jessica Sooter, 21, was born in Independence. Just out of the academy last year, she joined the Platte City Police Department Oct. 30, 2011.
“It’s one of those things,” Sooter said. “Kids want to be marine biologists or firefighters. I wanted to be a police officer.”
When Sooter was 19, she was involved with the worksite-based Explorer program which allows persons between the ages 14-21 explore different occupations. One of these occupations is law enforcement. It was also her first time being involved in an officer shooting in April of 2009. Unlike with a ride along, Explorers have more freedom in what they can and cannot do to assist police officers. The first situation was a carjacking gone wrong.
To read more, pick up the Jan. 11, 2012 Citizen.