Blanton glad to help others: Police ride-along turned detective toward law enforcement career

May 23—Lee Blanton graduated from Owensboro Community & Technical College and was working as a machinist when he began to think about doing something else in his life.

"I realized real quick I wasn't happy with what I was doing as a machinist," Blanton said.

The Daviess County native had a few friends in law enforcement, and that sparked his interest in the profession. Blanton signed up to do a ride-along with an officer, and "that kind of sealed the deal," he said.

"I always looked up to law enforcement as someone who would help, no matter what," Blanton said.

Blanton worked for a year as a deputy jailer and spent four years as an officer with the Owensboro Police Department before moving to the Daviess County Sheriff's Department in 2014. Today, Blanton is a sergeant and a detective in the office's criminal investigations division.

The change in careers was the right call, Blanton said.

"As a machinist, you clock into work, and you know what you're doing every day," he said. That's the exact opposite of law enforcement, where each call for service is unique.

"There's excitement every day," Blanton said. "It's like every day is a new job."

Blanton is also a member of the Utica Volunteer Fire Department, where he is an emergency medical technician. Blanton said all sheriff's deputies have training in first aid and CPR, but said he has used his EMT training on calls.

"There have been numerous times when (dispatchers) punch out a medical call, and we are close by" while on patrol in the county, Blanton said. "I know if I'm within a few minutes, I'm going to get there first.

"It didn't take me long to realize it would be nice to have advanced training."

In the county, a deputy might have to handle a situation alone for several minutes before any backup arrives. That makes deputies self-reliant, Blanton said.

"You have to be well-versed and be able to adapt to situations," he said. "Until you get into the job and start doing it, you don't realize the amount of things you are going to have to deal with and the things you have to know.

"One minute, you may be moving something out of the road that is a hazard, and then you have to go pull somebody out of a situation where they are being assaulted."

At times, deputies are called to respond to fatal accidents and other deaths, which is hard to prepare for, Blanton said.

But deputies don't have to manage the difficult things they see alone. Law enforcement officers, firefighters and ambulance crews "are super tight-knit," he said.

"It's almost like your second family," Blanton said. "When you're working, you talk about stuff."

Because law enforcement officers are so busy going from call to call, "sometimes the only way you have to decompress (from a difficult situation) is to talk with somebody," he said. "Humor is also a big portion of it."

Blanton was a shift supervisor before moving to the criminal investigations division last year. Being a detective requires being a good communicator, a good listener and a good student of people.

"You have to be really good at reading people and picking up on details," he said. "If you talk to two different people, you may have to talk to them in two different ways."

The investigations division is "a resource that is there for patrol," Blanton said.

Blanton said when deputies or investigators are called to a home or incident, they understand "it's someone's worst day possible. But, there are times when you are able to help and make a difference. That drives you."

Blanton said he likes being able to talk with people informally and give them a positive impression about law enforcement.

"You see kids, and they look up to you," said Blanton, who enjoys "getting out and interacting with them, and making someone's day.

"You can get out and talk to them and make a difference in the smallest way possible."

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse