Chris Mouser turns military experience into hometown career

At age 18, Jackson native Chris Mouser was unsure about his career. Spending three years, from 1988 to 1991,in the U.S. Army as a military policeman helped him decide. He wanted to make a career out of protecting the community he grew up in. Mouser joined the Jackson Police Department in 1992, only to be promoted two years later to sergeant. In 2003, he was promoted again and now ranks as lieutenant. As lieutenant, Mouser is the commander of patrol division and is the accreditation manager for the department.

Q: What was it initially that you enjoyed about this profession?

A: The military police is completely different than being a civilian police officer. I really enjoyed the military and I think the No. 1 thing I liked is the structure. That's what really got me into it and what has kept me into it. It was about being able to help people. That was one big thing: You get to deal with people every day. You're always helping somebody or going to a call; whatever it is, you're dealing with someone every day.

Q: What have been some highlights in your career so far?

A: After two years of being here I was promoted to sergeant, which to me was a little bit early. Being promoted to sergeant, a supervisor position, kind of put me in the line of fire with people who had been here longer than me. Whether it was the military experience, or whatever it was at the time that got me the position, I'm glad it happened the way it did. That was definitely a surprise and a high point, being promoted that early. It paid off in the long run; I'm glad to be where I'm at.

Q: What's the difference between being a sergeant and a lieutenant?

A: A sergeant normally takes care of a squad of officers, kind of like a platoon leader in the military. I run the patrol division, which is actually the platoon, and then within the patrol division you've got three sergeants and under each sergeant there are four to five officers on each squad. They take care of those officers' daily activities and make sure things are running the way they're supposed to run.

Q: So if you're not on the road much, what are your daily responsibilities?

A: I'm also the accreditation manager for the department, which is a pretty lengthy, drawn-out paperwork process. I do a lot of paperwork. I take care of all the training records, all the training and scheduling, so I've got a lot of different things that I do besides take care of the patrol division. It's any number of things. Today I could be sitting here doing nothing but paperwork and tomorrow they could call me because they have a problem out on the road and I have to go take care of that. Five minutes later I'm on the phone with a complaint on an officer and five minutes from that I'm finishing up the time clock. Really, any given day is different.

Q: What makes the Jackson Police Department different than other agencies in Southeast Missouri?

A: I'd say we're unique because we are a smaller agency, but at the same time we are the only accredited agency in this area. The [Missouri State] highway patrol of course is internationally accredited through CALEA like we are, but that was hard work. Chief [James] Humphreys and Lt. [Rodney] Barnes started the process out and really worked hard on that to get us where we're at. It really was beneficial for us. We made a lot of progressive changes and things that needed to be done a long time ago.

Q: So, what has changed for the better since you started in 1992?

A: The department has grown a little -- not a lot, but it has grown a little. We've been named the accreditation, we've got an excellent chief -- not to say the chiefs before him weren't great chiefs, they were -- but chief Humphreys is young and has a vision and knows where he wants to take this department. He does everything he can, he works with the city that provides us with some of the best equipment around and there have been a lot of changes since the beginning. The town has grown, of course, and because the town has grown we've become a lot busier.

Q: What do you think are some misconceptions about law enforcement?

A: One of the big misconceptions of law enforcement in general ... is all those cops are out there to do is just write tickets. And of course, for someone who's received a traffic citation, that's their issue with the agency. Those citations are written for a reason. Over the past several years we have reduced our traffic accidents; I think that's because our officers are more vigilant. They're out working traffic areas where we have problems, those high accident locations that we have here in the city, like East Jackson Boulevard. That center turn lane is a big problem. The ticket is meant to serve a purpose. It's meant to let the person know what they did was wrong and hopefully save their life or someone else's life someday.

Q: Do you have any career goals?

A: I'm here as long as the city of Jackson will have me. Of course I would like to move up in rank within the department. My intentions are to stay here until I retire.

Q: What do you do for fun?

A: One of my favorite things to do, really, is to read. I do a lot of reading, mostly on my iPhone. I'm a sucker for the Kindle application. When I'm not reading I'm watching movies, and usually the majority of my free time is spent with my family. The kids are always active doing something. If it's not volleyball, it's wrestling; it's always something. That keeps me busy outside of work, but I like to spend as much time with them as I can.