A legacy continues at PBPD with Carpenter, Trout

The newest patrolmen at the Poplar Bluff Police Department are carrying on their fathers’ legacy as second-generation officers.

“The term blue bloods often refers to people who come from a family in law enforcement and continue in the family trade,” said Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley.

Legacy hires, he said, have become “quite the buzz in Southeast Missouri in the last few months, and Poplar Bluff is included.”

On Wednesday, Whiteley said, the police department “capitalized on that concept” with a badge pinning ceremony “officially bringing on board two new second-generation law enforcement officers.”

New patrolmen Kenneth R. Carpenter Jr. and Donald “Cody” Trout both replaced their fathers within the department.

Their fathers, retired Deputy Chief Donald “Donnie” Trout and retired Patrolman Kenneth R. Carpenter Sr., had a combined total of more than 55 years invested with the department, Whiteley said.

“Both younger officers were working for other area police departments, but couldn’t truly follow in their fathers’ footsteps at Poplar Bluff P.D. until their respective fathers retired, due to hiring and nepotism regulations,” Whiteley explained. “It just so happened that both started work here in the same month and only a few days apart.”

According to Whiteley, two of the top problems facing law enforcement in 2019 is the recruitment of new personnel and retention of qualified officers.

“As we lost a couple of those qualified officers to retirement, we also gained ample replacements, who came from a strong law enforcement bloodline,” Whiteley said.

Patrolman Kenneth

Carpenter Jr.

When Kenneth Carpenter Jr. graduated as valedictorian from the local Missouri Sheriffs’ Association Training Academy in May, he already had a job with the Jackson Police Department, but it wasn’t his first choice.

“It was a nice town; I liked it, but it still wasn’t home,” said Carpenter.

When Carpenter graduated, he said, he wanted to work for the Poplar Bluff Police Department.

“This is where I wanted my career to be … but, unfortunately, the city has an ordinance against immediate family working in the same department,” said Carpenter, who indicated he couldn’t even work as a reserve officer for the department.

Within months of joining the Jackson Police Department, Carpenter said, he learned his father was going to retire early.

“I was expecting to work in Jackson for at least three years because that’s how much longer Dad had until he retired,” Carpenter explained.

With his father’s decision to retire early, “I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to come back here to work, so I applied and fortunately, I got it,” said Carpenter.

The elder Carpenter retired Oct. 1 after nearly 25 years with the department.

“When I was little, most little kids want to be a soldier, a police officer or fireman or something like that,” Carpenter said. “Of course, Dad being a police officer … I wanted to be a police officer.”

But, he said, as he got older, a few other career choices came to mind.

“I thought I wanted to be a lineman,” he said. “In high school, I did auto body, so I thought I wanted to do that right after high school.”

Although those were “good careers, there was just something about being a police officer that kind of intrigued me, so I started doing ride alongs,” Carpenter explained.

As a high school junior, Carpenter did his first ride along with now Sgt. Dusty Johnson.

“Ever since then, I started riding (and) just really liked the way everything went,” said Carpenter, who indicated he couldn’t “say my dad didn’t have anything to do with me wanting to be a police officer.”

Having someone, like his dad, already in that career, factored in, he said.

When Carpenter joined the department on Nov. 11, he brought about six months of experience with him.

“I’m the new guy, but I’ve got a little bit of experience, so I’m not mind boggled by how to do this job,” Carpenter said. “I don’t know everything about the job, but have a little bit of experience on certain calls.”

Carpenter said he is excited to start his career with the police department, but knows it might be a “little weird at first” since citizens who knew his father may be confused as he is the new “Officer Carpenter.”

Carpenter said the Poplar Bluff Police Department is “where I wanted my career to be. I would like to go far in this department and go far in my career in law enforcement.”

Patrolman

Cody Trout

An unexpected decision by his father to retire from the Poplar Bluff Police Department left Donald “Cody” Trout with a decision of his own to make.

Retired Deputy Chief of Police Donnie Trout (left) pins a badge on his son, Cody Trout, a new patrolman at Poplar Bluff’s police department. DAR/Paul Davis

“It was like flipping a coin,” said Trout. “Do I stay where I’m at or do I go where I originally wanted to be?”

Trout had been working as a patrolman for the Dexter Police Department for about 18 months when his dad retired Oct. 1, ending a 30-year career with the department. The elder Trout was Poplar Bluff’s deputy chief of police at the time.

“I had planned to stay in Dexter; I wasn’t planning on Dad retiring so soon,” said the younger Trout, who graduated “in uniform” from the Southeast Missouri Law Enforcement Academy in Cape Girardeau on May 18, 2018.

With his dad’s retirement, Trout said, he decided to apply for one of the two open slots at the police department.

“I ultimately wanted to end up here,” Trout said. “It was hard leaving good friends and co-workers at the other department, but there’s bigger and better things coming ahead.”

Trout expects the move to be a “really good” for him.

“It’s exciting” to be back working in Poplar Bluff and Butler County, Trout said. “It’s more of a thrill because I’m where I wanted to be.”

As he settles in to his new department, Trout said, he is getting to know the people around town, which will be the “biggest” change.

“Everything else will come with the job,” said Trout, who expects to “constantly keep learning and doing the job” the best he can.

The change, Trout said, has been “nothing but positive so far.”

As the newest Trout on the department, he said, he and his dad are “totally different people … but, he definitely set a very good example to follow.

“ … I think it all plays a pretty big role in it, being at the same department that Dad retired from and started at.”

Unlike his dad, Trout’s path to a law enforcement career was not a direct one.

“I got into the steel industry in Malden,” Trout said. “I did that for quite some time before I had the opportunity” to get into law enforcement.

Trout said he felt it was the right time for him to make the move.

“I’m not getting any younger if I want to make a career and jump into it,” Trout said. “ … I’m coming in at a good age where I have life experience.”