Ideal start for new Sheriff’s Deputy Engle

Ryan Engle grew up in Jasper County and had an interest in the law. It wasn’t until he did a ride-along with local law enforcement that his interest peaked. Now he is one of the new deputies to start at the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.

“My first interest was with the state patrol. Then I did a ride-along with all of the different agencies, the police department and the sheriff’s department and came to like the way the sheriff’s department runs things,” Engle said.

Engle graduated from Baxter in 2007 then went on to Indian Hills Community College graduating with an AA and AAS in criminal justice. He continued his education at Buena Vista University, where he received his bachelors in criminal justice in 2013.

Before joining the force, Engle worked as a reserve deputy, which is a volunteer based program in the sheriff’s office. To become a reserve, he trained on certain sections of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

“You get all of the training you need, (you’re) basically set to do the majority of what a regular deputy does except it is on a volunteer basis,” Engle said. “The reserve experience and the training made the process a lot more smooth just because of that exposure and some in site into the training and what all it would entail. There was certainly a benefit to doing the reserves and even college.”

In the reserves, a two-man program, where a deputy is always with another full-time deputy or another reserve.

When it came time to apply for the deputy position, Engle filled out his application like every other applicant, getting no preferential treatment from being in the reserves. He had to complete a physical and written test and was viewed according to his qualifications and scores. He was hired and had his first day in July 2014.

“I was sure that this was were I wanted to be. I had build relationships here with everybody in the office. I was sure that this was where I wanted to end up even if that’s where I didn’t get my first job,” Engle said.

Although he had a fair amount of exposure through the reserve program, his first day was one he will not forget.

“It was an interesting first day. I started the day of the tornado that hit east of town,” Engle said. “It was an interesting way to start.”

Engle entered training at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Sept., graduating in Dec. The training was full-time from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week for 14 weeks and was a mix of classroom and hands on training. After graduating, Engle returned to the sheriff’s office ready to begin work and set goals for his future.

“I’m looking forward for the opportunities for training,” Engle said. “Eventually I should hopefully be able to have an opportunity to join the Emergency Response Team. It would be kind of cool to be a part of that. It would be additional training and experience that would make me that much more of a well-rounded deputy.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com