Each month, Eagle Radio in Great Bend will recognize groups or individuals that make a big impact on our community. This Appreciation Month is highlighting the Great Bend Police Department.
By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
When Paul Millard was first getting started in his law
enforcement career, one of the hardest parts of the job to grasp was being more
aggressive.
“I was never really an aggressive person," said Millard. “Staff kept telling me
to be more assertive when dealing with people that you needed to be more
assertive with.”
Millard’s interest and strength in talking with people and relating to them far
outweighed any challenges of being aggressive. Getting subjects to understand
that he and the rest of the law enforcement are there to help is what continues
to drive Millard now with over two decades employed with the Great Bend Police
Department.
Growing up in Barton County in Hoisington and Great Bend, Millard spent much of
his time in high school competing in cross country, basketball, track and
staying involved with the yearbook and newspaper departments.
Following graduation from Great Bend High School in 1994, Millard stayed home
to take care of his mother that was not doing well.
“I did not really have any plans,” said Millard. “An opportunity came up to
apply for the Police Department. I took it and have been here ever since.”
Millard went to work for the Great Bend Police Department in 1998 when his
uncle, Terry Millard, notified Paul of the opening. Terry was a detective and
told Paul the Police Department was short on officers.
“I never thought about it before. My uncle came and talked to me about it and
asked if I would be able to do it. I said I could with the proper training.”
Millard spent eight weeks at the range with a training lieutenant going through
all the firearms and low-impact weapons. He spent an additional eight weeks on
the street with a training officer to learn how to take reports and figure out
what questions to ask on different calls.
When he was finally able to go out “on his own,” Millard acknowledges being
slightly scared early in his career.
“That first call you take on your own, you are wondering if you are doing this
right and you are second-guessing yourself,” said Millard. “Luckily, I had a
good squad of guys with me. If I had questions, I could call one of them.”
Millard noted he leaned on a number of officers when he needed help or was
looking for ways to improve. One of those officers was Casey Hubbard, now
working in the Barton County Attorney’s Office.
Millard started in the patrol division with the Great Bend Police Department.
He moved to entry team, bike patrol and has spent the past five years as the
School Resource Officer. He now has an office inside the Great Bend High
School.
“As a Resource Officer, I want to make a connection with the kids when they are
younger,” Millard said. “I do not want them seeing law enforcement as just the
people that give mom and dad a ticket or making arrests. We want them to know
we are here to help the community.”
Building connections and relationships with the children since 2016, Millard
says students will stop and say hello to him when they see him at Walmart or
the convenience store.
“For me, having the kids recognize and come up to me out of the uniform is
great. I encourage kids all the time to talk to officers. Officers say they
have kids coming up to them more and more.”
While running the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) program, Millard’s
schedule is flexible to interact with students at lunch or recess. Recently
diving into a game of pickleball with a group of elementary school students,
Millard admitted the children were better than he was at the game.
“They are a lot more mobile than I am with all the gear on,” said Millard. “They
have fun interacting with us, especially when they can beat us at something like
pickleball. You just see them light up and glow when they can do something
better than the officer.”
Spending the last 23 years with the Great Bend Police Department, Millard has
learned how to transition from the nice officer to the “this is what you have
to do” type of officer. But at the end of the day, it is still his ability to
communicate, deescalate the situation and his empathy that make him successful
at his job.
“I have seen officers that strictly give orders of ‘you do this, you do that
right now,’” said Millard. “They do not tend to last very long. The officers
that ask how they can help and talk to people are the ones that last a long
time because they can relate to people.”
Read the previous Appreciation Month stories by clicking HERE.