Welcome to the force, kid

KELLOGG — Earlier this year the Kellogg Police Department welcomed Matt Crawford into the fold as their newest patrol deputy.

Crawford, 21, is a bit of an anomaly in the police world — everything from his training, to his interests outside of law enforcement are a little different from the status quo.

“I was self sponsored in my training,” Crawford said.

A lot of officers get hired by agencies who then pay for their new recruits to go through POST (Police Officer Standards and Training), whereas Crawford made the decision to go through the training on his own dime and then find a job.

“It was like going through a year and a half of college classes in 16 weeks,” Crawford said. “It was pretty tough.”

Crawford, a people person by nature, really enjoys the laid back people in Kellogg, but his fascination with cars that go fast really helped him get to know some of the locals.

“I have had a lot of cars over the years and I love to drive them. Right now I have a Nissan Skyline GTR that tends to get a lot of looks,” Crawford said. “I drove into town in my Skyline and people saw it and followed me up to the station and when I got out in my uniform they were pretty surprised to see a cop driving it.”

Despite the little bit of good natured hazing that goes with any new law enforcement position, Crawford sees Kellogg as a becoming a home to him.

“The people here are great, and like I said I love meeting new people,” Crawford said. “I’m hoping to move over here pretty soon (Crawford currently resides in Coeur d’Alene).

Not only does he drive sweet cars as well as a motorcycle, he names them too …

I’ll let you ask him about Heather and Jessica.