Allen Fenner, a LARIAT tactical analysis coordinator, as he begins a round-trip bike ride on the Road to Hana in Maui, Hawaii.

Editor’s note: In its monthly director’s report, LESA (Law Enforcement Support Agency) in Tacoma, Wash., recently profiled Allen Fenner, a LARIAT tactical analysis coordinator (TAC), who is a former police officer.

What does a LARIAT TAC do?
LESA got a grant to hire some retired cops and crime analysts to do quick research on potentially dangerous calls. We relay that information to the cops on the street while they are on their way to calls or as soon as possible. We also mine various information sources to help detectives or patrol officers conduct their investigations.

[Note: Based out of the LESA comm center and created with the assistance of a Department of Justice grant, LARIAT (LESA Accelerated Response using Integrated Analysis & Technology) serves as a real-time crime center, researching and analyzing data from a variety of sources and databases for officers in the field.]

What you did before working at LESA?
In 1981, my wife was pregnant with my first (Kelsey) and, for some unknown reason, (I had a perfectly good job as a manager for Big 5 Sporting Goods), I decided to go to the police academy and see if I wanted to be a cop.

I was hired and started the LAPD academy in June. Three weeks into the academy, we got our first paycheck and without opening it, I presented it to my wife and told her I was going back to Big 5. I said that all they did at the academy was yell at me and make me fight people bigger than me.

My wife took one look at my check (it was substantially more than I was making at Big 5) and said, “Go shine your shoes, you are going to be a police officer.”

[So] in southern California, I was a sworn police officer for 29 years. I retired in July of 2010 after working for the Los Angeles Police Department, Anaheim Police Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. At LAPD, I worked in the communications center for 6 months and patrol for a little over 2 years. At Anaheim PD, I worked patrol, D.A.R.E. and detectives.

At the DA’s office, I worked gangs, homicide and gang injunctions. For 17 years, I also worked as a TAC officer at the Fullerton College Police Academy, where I taught Arrest and control techniques, physical training, and coordinated the field scenario training and testing.

[Then,] after living most of my 58 years in sunny southern California, my wife of 30 years told me that I was retiring and we were moving to Washington to be near the kids and grandkids. I said “no way am I leaving California.” So, we moved to Maple Valley, Wash.

Tell Us About Your Family
I am the proud father of two college graduates. Kelsey is 28 and AJ is 26. AJ is still a bachelor, and Kelsey is married and has my three grandkids: Aiden, Audrey and Bennett.

What you do outside of LESA?
My free time is spent working on my house, riding my road bike, playing golf (always looking for somebody to play) and spending time with my family.

Tell Us Something Your Coworkers May Not Know about You
In 1971, I was in a six person folk–rock group called “Just Us.” We performed all over southern California, including a summer stint at Knott’s Berry Farm in the Stage Coach Arena. We also won the San Gabriel Valley Talent Show, performing “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.”

[Also,] a quick story about my life heroes: In 1989, my mother and three girlfriends were enjoying a vacation at a resort hotel near St. Croix, the Caribbean, when Hurricane Hugo devastated the area. No civilian personnel were allowed in and the airports that were operational were restricted to military rescue operations. My dad (in Southern California) rented a Lear jet and its crew flew to St. Croix, and — posing as a U.S. Congressman — rescued my mother and her friends. When Dad arrived, Mom was cooking meals for all the stranded tourists.

This article was compiled by Kimberlee Barnard of LESA. Reprinted with permission of the Law Enforcement Support Agency from its July 19, 2011, Director’s Report, Vol. 6(6). For more about LESA, visit: www.lesa.net.