ARLINGTON Ron Johnstone was sworn in as the city of Arlingtons newest police officer April 16, but hes been a familiar face to the community for quite a while longer.
Johnstone and his family moved to Arlington from Granite Falls more than three years ago, but hes been working as the Arlington Police Departments community service officer for the past five years.
Law enforcement is just something Ive always wanted to do, said Johnstone, who spent the past year navigating the rigorous screening process to become a commissioned police officer. And the Arlington Police Department is a good place to work at, so this is just a natural progression. I always wanted to be a police officer, to put bad guys in jail.
To become a commissioned police officer, Johnstone received a year of field training, with more than 700 hours of extensive training in areas including first aid, patrol procedures, criminal procedures, criminal law, traffic investigation and crime scene investigation.
This training also included an initial interview, ride-alongs with master patrol and field training officers, an oral board interview, a strict physical assessment test, an intensive background investigation, a polygraph test, a psychological examination and a final interview with Arlington Police Chief John Gray.
Johnstone spent five months enrolled in the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien, which he deemed one of the most difficult parts of the process, but graduating from the academy and returning to his old workplace boosted his spirits.
This is a great group of people to work with, with a great chief in charge of them, Johnstone said. The city of Arlington is getting bigger, but it still has a small-town feel. No, its not a town of 2,000 people anymore, and were getting more crime as a result, but this is still a good place to live and work.
Johnstones eventual career aspirations include a possible promotion to detective in a few years, but for now, hes content to work as a patrol officer and continue serving the citizens of his community.