Published: June 14, 2009 12:29 am      

Cumberland man policing Ocean City as seasonal officer

CUMBERLAND — A day at the beach has taken on new meaning for Justin Sirbaugh.

Now a fully trained seasonal officer with the Ocean City Police Department, the 2005 Fort Hill High School graduate began work Thursday following recent graduation from the department’s 190-hour training program.

As one of several dozen seasonal officers who will assist the year-round members of the Ocean City police force, Sirbaugh is regularly scheduled to work four 10-hour shifts each week.

“This is one of the farthest things that I would have ever dreamed of doing, but I have developed a passion for this work. It’s really opened my eyes. I have a lot of respect for everyone in this profession. It changes the way you see everything,” said the senior psychology major at Frostburg State University.

Sirbaugh first heard about seasonal policing opportunities on the Eastern Shore at the FSU campus.

“Mike Schwager did it last year and recommended that I try it,” said Sirbaugh, a Cumberland native who is an assistant wrestling coach at Fort Hill High School.

Sirbaugh and Kevin Glascock, another senior at FSU, as is Schwager, applied for the seasonal police officer positions in November. Following an extensive background check and successfully passing written and physical examinations, both men were accepted into the seasonal police officer training program.

On May 6, Sirbaugh and Glascock began their formal training with instruction in constitutional law, firearms, traffic law, emergency driving, laws of arrest, criminal law and drug identification, among other topics. Sirbaugh said he spent about 300 hours training for his new job, in addition to the nearly 200 hours of formal training he received.

“It was really overwhelming how prepared Ocean City is to turn individuals in a limited amount of time into trained officers. The instructors were impressive and well-prepared, organized and efficient,” said Sirbaugh, whose training included heavy emphasis on use of force and self-defense as part of the firearms curriculum.

Duties for seasonal police officers include enforcement of state and local criminal laws, traffic laws and investigating crimes and traffic collisions.

Ocean City Police Department receives 800 to 1,000 applications annually for seasonal employment, and less than 8 percent of those are accepted and hired.

Retired Cumberland Police Capt. John Morley, who was a criminal justice instructor at Allegany College of Maryland for 20 years, said seasonal police officer positions afford many benefits.

“These positions are great opportunities to get some good experience and are good resume builders. The officers will be working in areas where they will see a lot and do a lot. They are going to be busy and they have about a year's worth of work packed into their summer,” said Morley, who now oversees the college’s campus police force.

Morley said the Ocean City police mission “helps develop people skills” that are vital for public servants.

“I never planned to become a police officer but this is now an opportunity for me in the future,” said Sirbaugh, whose first aspiration has been to become a teacher. “If that would happen, I could still spend the summers as a seasonal officer in Ocean City.”

Jeffrey Alderton can be reached at jlalderton@times-news.com.