After graduating with degrees related to law enforcement, Justin Hammond tried to find a job in that field.

At that time, though, the opportunities were few and far between.

He wound up taking a management position at Columbus Engineering Inc. and stayed there for about 10 years.

All the while, law enforcement was still in the back of his mind.

A couple of years ago, he started the process again to try and find a job as a police officer. In the fall of 2021, he went through the hiring process with the Seymour Police Department.

Fortunately, his longtime dream became reality. He accepted a job offer and was sworn in Dec. 20, and he recently completed the 40-hour prebasic course and now is preparing to head to the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield.

“It’s kind of stressful during the whole process because there’s a lot of unknowns,” the 37-year-old Freetown man said. “You’re waiting to hear, you’re waiting to get the conditional offer, and then once you finally get the conditional offer, you’re fairly certain you’ve got it at that point, but it felt good to get that.”

It means even more to Hammond since this is a long time coming.

“Getting hired in law enforcement, it’s difficult,” he said. “There’s a lot of competition, a lot of very good competition, so honestly, I’m very grateful for the opportunity from Seymour.”

Hammond said he has lived in Jackson County since he was about 10 years old.

He graduated from Brownstown Central High School in 2003 and then went to Vincennes University and received an associate degree in law enforcement conservation in 2005 and a bachelor’s degree in homeland security and public safety in 2008.

“When I was in high school is when I started having a lot of interest in law enforcement, so I signed up to do a ridealong with a conservation officer and really enjoyed it,” he said. “That’s what put me on the path of going to Vincennes for law enforcement, and then also while I was in college, I worked two years as a correctional officer and really enjoyed that. You never knew. It was always something. You deal with all walks of life.”

Growing up enjoying the outdoors — hunting, fishing and camping — Hammond developed an interest in becoming a conservation officer.

Around the time he was in college, though, he said landing that job wasn’t easy because there were only two conservation officers per county and there weren’t a lot of open positions.

He moved home and started at Columbus Engineering, where he was a production manager.

“I kind of almost got comfortable very quickly,” Hammond said. “I didn’t even apply (for law enforcement jobs) anymore until just a couple years ago. … That desire was still there. It was there the whole time, but it was a good job, you’re making good money. I got comfortable in life.”

After leaving Columbus Engineering, he started a catering business and then took it one step further and bought a food truck.

That freed up some time for him to do ridealongs with officers from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

“I really, really enjoyed it, and it just kind of reignited that spark, ‘This is what you should be doing,’” he said. “Before I go through all of this process and go through the academy and change careers midlife more or less, I wanted to make sure this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my working days.”

Meanwhile, Hammond also learned how to day trade, which involves trading stocks on the stock market.

“I’ve developed a skill that is going to help me make side income for the rest of my life now, so I’m glad it all worked out the way that it did,” he said.

Since starting with SPD, Hammond said it has been a good experience doing ridealongs with officers and learning how the dispatch center works.

“Everybody has been very open here. They’ve accepted (Hammond and two other new officers) well, I feel like,” he said. “I feel accepted. We’re already a part of their group.”

Soon, he will spend 17 weeks at the academy.

“I’ve talked to some friends that have been through it. It’s long. It’s grueling because you’re away from home Monday through Friday,” he said. “The hardest part for me is going to be away from my wife Monday through Friday. We’ve been together for 17 years, married for 13 years, and we don’t spend a lot of time apart, so that’s going to be the hard part for me.”

Then he will be on his own patrolling the city streets and responding to calls, doing his part to protect and serve.

“What I had done before, the reward was a paycheck, whereas I feel with law enforcement, there are a lot more days where when you get off shift and you helped someone or you’ve stopped a crime, prevented a crime, you’re going to feel good about that. It’s going to be rewarding,” he said. “That’s what I want to give to the community. I want to make them feel safer, to give it that small town community feel. That’s my contribution.”

Hammond file 

Name: Justin Hammond

Age: 37

Hometown: Brownstown

Residence: Freetown

Education: Brownstown Central High School (2003); Vincennes University (associate degree in law enforcement conservation, 2005; bachelor’s degree in homeland security and public safety, 2008)

Occupation: New officer for the Seymour Police Department

Family: Wife, Cinnamon