20 Years of Service: Lyle Wysote

Being a police officer for 20 years in the community you were born and raised has its share of unique challenges.

Lyle Wysote was just honored for 20 years of service as a police officer in Listuguj.

“Sometimes you have to deal with family members. Sometimes you have to deal with close friends,” he said. “But the thing is, you have to try reason and let them know, explain – ‘I’m not here because I want to be here. I’m here because I have to be.’”

While it may be tough in unique ways, Wysote thinks it’s important to be working in his own community.

“The majority of us are from here,” he said. “We police our own community. I think that makes  a difference.”

Even though emotional situations can arise when running in to longtime friends or family, Wysote is careful to keep in mind the many factors that could be at play.

“You can’t take that to heart,” Wysote said. “We’re still friends.”

With brief amounts of time spent working and training outside of the community, Wysote has been settled here since 1996.

“From 2001 to now I’ve been in plain clothes, doing investigations – be it sex crimes, drugs, violent crimes.”

He has been serving for 19 consecutive years, 20 in total.

“Policing has changed a lot since 1991, when I first started, to present day,” Wysote said.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.