Traffic officer retires in steps
Deepa Bharath
For 30 years, he has held a reputation in the Police Department as
“one of the nicest guys.”
Today, Traffic Investigator Floyd Waldron will officially retire
from a position he has held for most of his career -- well, mostly
retire.
He will continue as a reserve officer and help out traffic
officers with the expertise that they have come to value greatly over
the years.
Waldron, 52, started his career as a patrol officer in 1973.
Within a year and a half, he had become a traffic officer and, in
three years, a traffic investigator.
“Except for three years after that, I’ve been a traffic
investigator most of my career,” he said.
Waldron enjoyed doing what he did because he “liked to help
people,” he said.
“I liked everything about the job,” he said. “Taking accident
reports, doing investigations. I guess I never got tired of it.”
The case that stands out in his memory, Waldron said, is one in
which a man driving a stolen van from Santa Ana sped through 19th
Street, broadsided and killed two Estancia High School students who
were skipping school to go surfing.
“That was one case I remember well because I followed it right
through to the trial stage,” he said. “I got the opportunity to work
with the district attorney on that one. It was interesting.”
The biggest challenges he faced during his career were the ones
that made him most frustrated, Waldron said.
“I’ve worked on many hit-and-run cases where I’ll know a person
was involved,” he said. “But I wouldn’t have evidence or witnesses to
actually prove that they did it. That was extremely frustrating for
me because you really want to help someone by solving the case, but
your hands are tied.”
But Waldron’s persistence, his quest for perfection and his
ability to maintain an even temperament at any time were his greatest
strengths, his colleagues say.
“In the 20-plus years that I’ve worked with him, I’ve never ever
seen him mad,” Lt. Dale Birney said. “He’s very thorough with his
investigations and, when he interviews people, he’s low key and
doesn’t put anyone in the defensive.”
Lt. Les Gogerty, who supervised Waldron when he was a traffic
lieutenant, called him “a very conscientious and respectful officer.”
“He was a wonderful person to supervise,” Gogerty said. “His work
is impeccable, and he was always there when needed. He was very
positive and had an outstanding work ethic.”
Waldron says he plans to spend more time with his family -- wife
Karen, seven sons and five daughters.
“We still have half of our kids with us at home,” he said. “I
still have a few boys involved in sports and I look forward to
helping out wherever possible.”
Waldron will, however, return on Monday as a reserve officer and
will spend another month or so training Officer Carlos Diaz, who will
replace him as traffic investigator .
“I’ve been doing this for so long, it would’ve been hard for me to
quit suddenly,” he said.
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