University Daily Kansan, August 21, 1985
Page 6
Policeman living childhood dream still has ambition
By Gina Kellogg
Staff Reporter
When David Cobb was growing up, he had one of the same dreams as a lot of other little boys — he wanted to be a policeman. But Cobb had it easier than other children when he fantasized. He got to play in a real jail.
"My grandfather was chief of police in Lawrence when I was a kid," Cobb says. "He'd take me to the police station and I got to try out keys to the jail cells. I got to all the things kids dream about doing."
And unlike a lot of little boys who change their minds about their future profession, Cobb pursued his dream.
Cobb is now a sergeant for the Lawrence Police Department, where he has worked since 1975. He is well-known among the Greek organizations and living groups on campus for his alcohol safety talks.
"He impressed me so much, that he loved his job so much, I thought that would be something I'd want to do," he says. "So the more I was around him and the more I got to see it, provided it would be a challenge."
"The police department doesn't have a program, though," Cobb says of his speeches.
"The way it starts is the supervisor will say, 'Somebody wants a talk tonight. Who wants to give it?' " he says. "And everybody will just sit there and stare out the window then he'll say, 'How but you, Cobb? Yeah, you can handle it.'"
"That's how I got started in it."
Cobb's lectures are well-attended by the college crowd and he attends his presentation, but he calls this audience realize that he's more than just a police officer.
"Most times 'they see a uniform and they think, 'Oop, that's a uniform. And it doesn't eat ice cream and it doesn't stop at McDonald's."
ne says, "All those things that people don't think police officers do.
"It's just so strange the way people perceive a uniform. They don't think they do things that everybody else does.
"I wear my uniform, so they can see it, but then I bring myself out to their level, showing them that I, too, am a real person."
But Cobb's natural warmth and perpetual smile continually radiate his genuine character.
It comes out especially when he talks about his wife, Deena, and two boys, Wayne, $^{31\alpha}$, and Mikey, 1.
"They're the light of my life," he says.
Cobb's 31 years are betrayed by an assured composure not shared by many men twice his age. His wire-rimmed glasses come off and he leans forward when he is especially relaxed and eager to tell a story. It's as if they are a barrier and he wants them off.
And with all barriers removed, Cobb can begin the stories he uses in his lectures — stories to which his listeners can relate.
"I know what goes on," he says.
"Like when I turn on the red light and everybody ducks down. And they all pour out their cups. And you walk up and you're not supposed to notice the door. That's when they sticking out from under the seat."
"Of course, they're all smiling like,
'Good evening, officer.' And the smell of the beer is rolling out of the car.
"You can't help but notice it, but you try not to."
Cobb says he tries to help students understand the dangers of abusing alcohol.
"I've found that going out and talking about it makes it less of a mystery to them," he says. "There's an awful lot of information they never know unless somebody has a way of presenting it to them."
Cobb received most of the experiences for his stories while working the street shift, from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. But he hasn't been on the street in almost two years, since he began working at a desk job in September 1983.
Although Cobb defends his indoor position, one can sense his restlessness to be back on the street a restlessness reflected in his spanned arm. In the Judicial-Law Enforcement Building, 11th and Massachusetts streets.
A photograph of a sunset, which his wife bought for $5 from a "starving" door-to-door artist, and a few other small photos, which Cobb took himself, hang on the walls.
Of course, there is also his autographed photo of the cast of "Hill Street Blues" that a sister-in-law acquired for him.
"She waited on the set all da' to get all the autographs" he says.
Cobb's defense for his limited decorations gives away his yearning to be back on the street, however. "I didn't know how long I'd be in here," he says.
tougher than his current 9- to 5-position, says his wife, an exercise physiologist at the Lawrence Family Practice Center, 500 Rockledge Road.
"It's a different type of work stress," she says. "It's easier for him to break off at 5 and be a father and husband than when he's on patrol. He's been there then and have had a tough night and it took awake for him to cool down."
Once Cobb is home, however, his family becomes the focal point of his attention.
"Dave has always been really good with the kids — they go to him now over me — he's very playful and he's a real fan of tenebies, she says. "My sisters have always been jealous of this."
"My friends say he's exceptional that he can be both a father and a husband."
Working the night shift was a lot
Deena Cobb describes her husband as extremely responsible, stable, loving, wonderful, playful. "I “don’t want to sound like I’m padding it,” she laughs. “But I thank my lucky stars every day for having him.”
Later she adds, "Nobody's going to
latter this guy can be this nice."
"He's very caring and concerned," says his secretary, LaDonna Laing. "Some people in some jobs, you prefer to stand back from. But he's so easy to get along with, he's no problem."
Yet others describe Cobb in much he same way.
Several years ago, Cobb's concerned attitude extended to talking his best friend, Danny Affalter, into joining him on the police force. After all, that had been their dream since childhood.
"I said, 'You'll never go anywhere selling vacuums,' and he said, 'Oh yeah I said.' And about nine months later he said, 'Hey, I'm not going anywhere.' And I said, 'I kinda told you that.'
"Danny was a vacuum salesman downtown, and he thought he was going places," Cobb says, smiling.
"So he joined the police department and we were promoted the same day, Dec. 3, last year."
"I wear my uniform, so they can see it, but then I bring myself out to their level, showing them that I, too, am a real person." David Cobb Lawrence police officer
Affalter is also proud that they were promoted to sergeant at the same time.
The two friends obviously enjoy making each other look absurd.
"Yeah, we got promoted on the same day," he says. "We've been competing with each other all our lives. I don't know what's going to happen someday when we're competing for only one job."
"Did David tell you about the time when he shot the roof out of the squad car?" Affalter asks.
"It was in 76 or '77 and there was this new chief of police," he says. "It was real busy because it was on a football game day. Everybody's supposed to check their equipment when they first go on duty and David forgot to check his shotgun.
"He got a call, and as he was driving there, he noticed the safety was off. So he reached over to flip it on. Someone from the previous shift had left a full chamber in it. It blew off the roof of the squad car."
But then he seems to need to defend Cobb.
"That's the only real mistake he's ever made in 10 years on the force," Affalter says. "He got an official butt-chucking by the chief of police — it's called an oral reprimand — but not much of one because of his good work record. He's been real careful ever since then."
Carelessness doesn't fit into Cobb's life.
"You've got to be able to supervise yourself." Cobb savs.
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