BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Battle Creek Police Chief Jim Blocker remembers his first day on the job. It was February 16, 1997, and he was asked to make a pot of coffee.
“I was handed a pot of coffee from a sergeant. It was empty or mostly empty and he said ‘Hey go wash this out and make yourself another cup of coffee,” Chief Blocker recalled. “Can you make coffee? I said, ‘Absolutely I can.’ So, I’m wandering around the old building and I cannot find a kitchen anywhere.”
Blocker thought he failed. So, when he went back and asked where the kitchen was, he was told there wasn’t one. He had to get the water from the bathroom.
“You know what’s really funny I thought ‘we need to have a new building,’” Chief Blocker said during an interview with FOX 17 on Friday. “And that was on that first day. But I did, mission accomplished. Eventually, I made that pot of coffee.”
“You can’t be involved in this career without being empathetic.”@BattleCreekPD is participating in a citywide Gingerbread 🏡 contest. Chief Blocker is set to retire in Jan. after 26 yrs w/ the dept.
— Lauren Edwards (@LaurenEdwardsTV) December 17, 2022
Hes proud of his officers/staff … and proud of the display below. // @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/JRcqVIyFut
In his 26 years with the department, he’s made many pots of coffee — as a patrol officer, an admin officer, and as an executive officer to the chief.
“Eventually, [I was] promoted to the detective bureau which I absolutely loved, especially working as a detective you get a lot closer to the victims and their families more than you would in almost any other aspect of the profession,” he said. “And that of course you develop a real sense of not just empathy but it was rewarding when you could work a case all the way through.”
Blocker was even deployed with the Army a few times throughout his career. But now he’s retiring from the department. His last day is in late January 2023.
“You know it feels really good,” Blocker said. “What feels even better is the fact that it was in, during the late summer I recognize you know I looked left and right, we had a few incidents in the city that were notable. It certainly hit the press but the team handled it. They handled it really well without me.
That’s when he began thinking seriously about retiring from an industry he never even considered. That was until 1989 when he was in New Mexico working at a small school.
“No one in my family was in law enforcement,” said Blocker who’s from northern Florida. “It was an incident that happened in New Mexico. I pulled a smaller child out of the road when I heard a car speeding down the road and I was righteously upset.”
He was so upset that he chased after the driver. When he caught up to him he quickly saw that the man was drunk. Nevertheless, the officers thanked him for his help. They also asked if he wanted to do a ride-a-long, which he did. Immediately he knew that he wanted to be an officer.
“I think generally I always sort of had that servant's heart, wanted to help others, [or] do something,” he said. “I had no idea. When you’re young you don’t. And when I realized this was an avenue to do that I thought what a great way to make a living and actually enjoy going in every single day.”
Chief Blocker met his wife in New Mexico, but they moved to Michigan where she’s from.
As rewarding as the job has been, it’s also been rough at times. Blocker said he’ll never forget his first homicide, which happened right after he joined the force in 1997.
“It was a 16-year-old boy on the front porch. He had been shot. I’d never seen anything like that,” Chief Blocker said. “I mean you talk about it. You train. You go to recruit school. But nothing prepares you for that. And even worse nothing prepares you for the mother’s reaction when she gets home.”
What stood out to him most was his partner that day, Detective Dave Adams’, approach. When they visited the family to begin their investigation, Det. Adams immediately walked in and began hugging everyone and asked no questions about the case.
Blocker said he was ‘mystified’ but Adams’ empathy is what he took with him throughout his career.
“You know, you can’t be involved in this career without being empathetic,” he said. “Whether you’re standing on the sidewalk with a victim. You’re glad when your officers are OK after a dangerous encounter.”
He’s also glad when his officers smile and have fun in the office. Friday, they were putting the final touches on a gingerbread house they were making in honor of the Field of Flight event that happens annually every summer. They used pretzel sticks for the Ferris wheel, graham crackers for the benches, and pasta and peppermint balls for the fence. The display is a part of a citywide competition.
Blocker was impressed with it all. The display was his idea but it was brought to life by the officers and staff, whom he’ll miss.
“I’m proud of where this department has come,” Blocker said. “And I’m even prouder of where they’re going.”
