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# National Police Week spotlight: Dennis Lopez

By DLA Public Affairs

                RICHMOND, Va.  –              
*Editor’s Note: May 14-20 is National Police Week. This is a part of a series of spotlights highlighting members of the Defense Logistics Agency Police Force who work 24/7 to protect DLA people and property.*

**Your name:** Dennis Lopez

**Job title and location:** Police officer in Richmond, Virginia.

**What inspired you to become a police officer?**I wanted to see if I could meet that level of honor and accountability.

**When did you join DLA’s police force and what did you do before you got here?**Prior to becoming a police officer, I worked as a worldwide protective security specialist for the Department of State. I traveled back and forth to the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan for six years. The time came for me to come home for good, but I didn’t know where to put my career skills to use. DLA provided a career path for me to return home employed and continue to put my skill set to use, only this time as a police officer in a Defense Department capacity.

**Describe your typical workday in 2-3 sentences.**My typical work week can be demanding and fast or slow and long. There are times where a week will happen in a day or a day will happen in a week. Everything depends on the spirit of the nation at the time.

**Describe the most dangerous situation you’ve encountered on duty.** I scanned an ID card into the Defense Biometric Identification System and it alerted that the person was wanted by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service and the person could be armed and dangerous.

**What’s the hardest part of being a police officer and why?**The hardest part is putting on a multitude of hats to deal with the public and being able to decipher which hat I should use. Police have to be teachers, counselors, mediators and authoritative, all in a professional manner.

**What do you like most about your job and why?**I like the schedule. It allows me to have more days off, but we do earn that time off on our long 12-hour-a-day work schedules.

**Do you have any funny stories you can share from your time protecting people and property?**I’ve had drivers pull up to my access point with money in hand asking, “How much is the toll?” Our access points look like toll booths to unsuspecting travelers.

**What’s the biggest security infraction you see employees make?**Losing their common access cards, leaving their CAC cards and having no situational awareness about their daily activities.

**What are you passionate about outside of work?**I’m a family man. I love my family and there’s nothing more important to me.

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NPWNational Police WeekPolice OfficerDLA police force