Lt. Alfonson Ross was promoted to major on August 1rst. He told how he had gotten into law enforcement in 1998. “I was in the United States Navy, got out of the military, moved back to Americus, and actually I put in for the police department and the fire department, and the police department called me first.”

Ross talked about the changes he had seen in policing over his 26-year career. “There’s been a lot of changes in policing since 1998. In 1998, when I first came, we didn’t have body worn cameras. I love ‘em, because it holds everybody accountable. It holds us accountable, and it also holds the other party accountable as well. Keep both parties honest.”

He detailed his experience. “I’ve been in almost every department.” He told how he had gone from being on patrol to the Sumter County drug task force. Ross also mentioned being Sargent in the criminal investigation division, and was now heading back to road patrol. “So I’ve actually had pretty much all roles here at the police department.”

When asked if he had a favorite job, he replied; “I do. I got two favorites. I love traffic, and I love getting drugs off the street. Those are my passion. That’s my main passion, is helping people.” He told how he had a strong desire to keep the streets safe. “That’s another one of my passions, is to get all drunks off the road. So I’m very traffic oriented, and I’m very drug oriented.”

When asked if there were any notable cases that stuck out, he mentioned 2016 when two officers lost their lives. “That day sticks out in my mind.” He mentioned he was the third officer to respond after Nickolas Smarr and Jody Smith lost their lives.

Ross told what it was like to receive the promotion. “I was excited for the change, excited for the challenge because instead of being over a shift, now I’m over several units. I’m over the criminal investigation unit, I’m over special ops, and I’m over the enforcement division which other people know it as the patrol division.” Ross stated that it would be a challenge, but that it was a challenge he was willing to face.

He also told about the preparation and training that went into his job. “I love training, so I’ve been to a lot of training courses to get me prepared. I’ve taken college courses, went to Columbus State Command College, I finished the professional management program at Command College, I took some other college courses.”

Ross also mentioned taking specialized courses in drug investigations, gang investigations, and homicide investigations. “I’ve taken a lot of courses to get me prepared for the work in general, and I’ve taken some managerial courses too.”

He told what he would say to someone interested in the career. “It’s a great career. I tell people that want to be a police officer to come in to help people to have the heart to be able to make a difference in one person’s life. There’s a lot of people that you’re going to come into contact with, but if you can reach that one person and change their life, that’s our main focus.”

Ross talked about police work, saying it was a great career. “We’re recruiting, we’re hiring, they’ll see my face out there a lot trying to recruit and hire people.”

He ended with an invitation to citizens. “My office is open. If the citizens got some ideas that they want to bring across, what they think might be how we can change the perception of policing, then my office is open, all day.”