Sgt. Ray Sollars is the longest serving police officer in Paris’ history BY: GARY HENRY [email protected] Sgt. Ray Sollars did not set out to create a longevity record, but that is what happened. He joined the Paris Police Department Sept. 19, 1980, and the upcoming anniversary marks his 34th year on the force. According to his research of department records, the previous longest serving officer was former Chief Stanley R. Sims with 32 years. When Sollars reached the 32-year mark, he knew he was going to beat Sims’ record. “There was no goal to beat him,” said Sollars. “It just happened.” A graduate of Clinton High School, Sollars considered a law enforcement career when his was a student but did not immediately pursue it after graduation. The eight-year span between graduation and becoming a police officer included periods of work at Midwest in Paris, Foley Lumber and for a private security company. “I got married in that time and started a family,” said Sollars. He applied whenever the city advertised testing to create a hiring list for the police department. Sollars recalls, “I took the test three times and passed it each time.” He got a boost when the head of the police and fire commission suggested he do something to gain additional training. At that time, the University of California offered a correspondence course, and Sollars did the course work and assignments at night after work. “I worked for two years and graduated from the Police Science Institute,” he said. The day he was hired by the Paris Police Department was the same day that Ron Humphrey was hired. Humphrey went on to become the department’s chief and is now retired. “We went to the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois together,” said Sollars. His entire career has been spent as a patrol officer. “It allows me to handle various calls,” he said, noting as a patrol officer he does everything from issuing city ordinance violations to being the initial responder at a major crime scene and securing the site before turning it over to the investigators. Added responsibility has come with longevity. Sollars said he was selected as the department’s first training officer when former Chief Gene Ray saw the need for a training program to assist younger officers. “I had to start from scratch,” said Sollars. His first action was gathering information from other departments that had such programs. Using that data as a guide, he laid out a training program he thought would work in Paris. Before the program was implemented, Sollars submitted it for review to the Police Training Institute instructors at Champaign. “They commended the work and said it was an exceptional job,” Sollars said. Current Police Chief Jamey Littleton values the experience and knowledge that seasoned officer like Sollars bring to the department. “It is important to have experienced people around,” said Littleton. “There are a lot of things you don’t learn from books and the academy.” Littleton added a good department has a mix of senior officers and younger people on the force. “It’s important to have both extremes,” said Littleton. Sollars was promoted to sergeant in 1989, and in that role, he supervises the duty shift with responsibility for assuring that everything from responding to calls to writing reports is done properly. TECHNOLOGY CHANGES A long career witnesses many changes, and Sollars recalled some of the more important developments. When he started, officers were limited to carrying either a .38-caliber or .357-caliber pistol, and they were prohibited from having more than 18 rounds of ammunition. Today, they may use semi-automatic handguns. “I carried a Smith and Wesson model 19 .357 Magnum,” said Sollars. “Now I carry a Glock model 22, .40-caliber that has 16 rounds in the magazine.” He said Tasers are tool officers have now that were not available in 1980. The biggest change to police work is the developments in electronic communication, he said. His first squad car was equipped with a two-channel radio. The police department used one frequency, and the other connected to the state police. Multichannel radios with scramblers are the norm now. “That in-car computer has got to be the biggest change,” said Sollars, explaining officers have the ability to run license plates and various forms of identification and check for outstanding warrants and stolen vehicle reports in the car. STRESS RELIEF What hasn’t changed is the reason why the police exist. Police still deal with speeders, driving-under-the-influence stops and domestic batteries, to name just a few. “We still handle the same variety of calls,” said Sollars. Police work is stressful, and Sollars says he found relief in motocross and practicing martial arts. He learned judo and taekwondo, and he continues a fitness regimen that includes weight lifting. He is also a certified in pressure-point tactics and often traveled with fellow officer Greg Metcalf to other departments for training sessions in pressure-point control tactics. Sollars’ best stress relief is family. He has been married for 39 years, has two surviving children and seven grandchildren. Retirement is not on the immediate horizon. A devout man, Sollars referred to the Book of Timothy in the Bible where it states God has a task in life for every person. He said he believes God led him into law enforcement. “I enjoy working with the people,” said Sollars. “I enjoy working with the other officers. I believe God will tell me when it is time to retire.”
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 01:29:10 +0000
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