Belue named officer of the year

“There are a lot of officers county-wide so this is a big honor not just for me but for the Red Bay Police Department as a whole. I was very thankful.”

The Red Bay graduate and veteran officer has spent a total of 13 years in law enforcement with the past three years being at the Red Bay Police Department.

Belue was exposed to law enforcement growing up in Louisiana where his father served as a deputy sheriff, and he decided at an early age that he wanted to make law enforcement his career, too.

“Law enforcement was just a part of my family,” Belue said. “Being around my dad and his career, riding with him when he was a constable here in Alabama, it just gave me a real love for it.”

Starting at age 14, Belue was part of the cadet program in Louisiana. When his family moved to Alabama, a cadet program wasn’t offered at Red Bay High School, so he waited until his senior year when he was old enough and started working at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department as a reserve. 

Belue worked as a reserve and served papers for the sheriff’s department for seven years. He had a strong desire to become a full-time patrolman but he had one problem: his weight.

According to Belue, he had studied and knew all he needed to know about being a police officer. He knew the law backwards and forwards, but he also knew that if he went to the police academy, he wouldn’t be able to meet the physical requirements.

After a few years, the technology for gastric bypass surgery became available. Belue was able to have this surgery and finally realize his dream of being a police officer.

“Getting the opportunity to become a full-fledge officer was one of the most rewarding experiences for me because I was finally able to do something I had been passionate about almost my whole life,” Belue said. 

After his surgery, Sheriff Larry Plott sent Belue to the police academy where he passed all of his requirements. He came back to work for the sheriff’s department for a while before being offered a job with the Red Bay Police Department.

“The sheriff was like a second father to me,” Belue said. “I really appreciate him giving me the opportunity to work there even before I was able to go to the academy.

“I loved working at the sheriff’s department because there was such a wide coverage area,” Belue said. “I also made a lot of friends there and enjoyed what I did.

“All those things made it very hard for me to leave. Sometimes, though, you have to make decisions that are best for your family, and when I got the opportunity to work for Red Bay, I knew that would be better for me.”

In the three years Belue has spent at Red Bay, he has worked his way up from an officer to the rank of sergeant.  He has participated in beneficial training such as street drug training and behavioral training, and he has taken every opportunity to make sure he is always doing the best job he can.

“Something that I really try to stress to new officers is that you should always treat people the way you would want to be treated in that situation,” Belue said. “My dad always told me that just because you put on a badge, it doesn’t make you 10 feet tall or make you better than anyone. 

“It’s always important to be professional and maintain a set of ethics because people really count on you when you’re an officer and they need to be able to trust and depend on you.”

Belue said that he also tells new officers that even the seemingly mundane tasks of being a police officer are important.

“Patrolling is prevention,” Belue said. “A lot of the newer guys don’t always see that, but if you’re getting out there and being seen, you could be preventing a crime from taking place and that’s what’s important – making a difference and keeping the community safe.”

Belue said that while he still loves his job, it’s not without its disappointments. There are things about being a law enforcement officer that can be very stressful from time to time.

“One of the hardest things is just dealing with the judicial system,” Belue said. “It’s hard when you’ve spent hours working on a case and the person ends up just getting a slap on the wrist. It can get discouraging.

“And the people that we work with, the prosecutors and judges, I know it’s not all their fault. It’s just the system itself. But it still gets hard.”

Belue said that drug programs and rehabilitation centers are good tools, but he feels like those are used more often than necessary.

“Drugs are just like cancer, like a disease, and I’m am all for people getting help if they need it,” Belue said, “but people have got to get to the point where they want to help themselves. Otherwise, they’ll just keep coming back through the system.”

Belue said it’s sometimes hard to deal with the general public, which happens on a daily basis for law enforcement officers. But he said that in the end, it’s all worth it.

“There are bad things that come with every job. The main thing is just to do what you love because that way, even with the bad things, you’ll still enjoy coming to work every day.”

The life of a law enforcement officer can be very demanding not just for the officer but for his or her family as well, but Belue said that he has always had the support of his wife of four years, Carla, and his fifteen-year-old daughter, Allison.

“I couldn’t ask for a better support system or a better wife,” Belue said. “Carla worries about me, but she is always there to relieve the stress of my job. I’m very lucky to have the family I have.”

Belue said he plans to continue working in law enforcement for as long as he can.

“I want to continue to work my way up in the department,” Belue said. “I’ve always said that after I retire, I’d like to run for sheriff, but people don’t realize how much pressure, stress and responsibility comes with being the sheriff.

“Ultimately I am just open to any advancement and just doing the best job I can.”