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WARREN -- After dedicating 36 years as a policeman, probation officer and hostage negotiator, Vincent Peterson I, the officer in charge of adult probation in Trumbull County, retired Friday.
At a farewell gathering, Peterson, 59, said the officer who influenced him the most was Warren police detective Morris Hill Sr.
"I just liked the way he handled situations. He was a big guy, but he spoke and people valued his authority," Peterson said. "The way he dealt with people was the kind of like a father figure. He had a presence."
Peterson said that as a youth, it was the excitement of the job that attracted him. But over the years, he said the job transformed into something he viewed as a ministry.
"It was a place that God had placed me in to help change and impact lives," Peterson said.
After helping a pastor friend's troubled son through a difficult time, the role took on a different perspective for him, he said.
LEARNING ON THE JOB
For 2 1/2 years, Peterson worked as an officer in Columbiana County. On Jan. 2, 1990, he came to Trumbull County during the historic crack epidemic. There was "very little" understanding of the effects of crack and how addicting the substance could be, he said.
"I think there were a lot of things that were done that when we look back 30 years later -- and they say hindsight is 20 / 20 -- that could've been done differently," Peterson said. "I think we tried to arrest our way out of something that we never could, just like we're seeing with the opioid epidemic."
More progress could have been made had he been equipped with the knowledge available now for combating drug epidemics.
"There was a lot more violence associated with the crack epidemic because we have guys coming in from Detroit because it was more lucrative to sell here because you could sell at a higher price," Peterson said.
During that time, Peterson said an equal balance of rehabilitation and incarnation was needed.
"I always say you have to fight it like we did Desert Storm, from the land, the air and sea -- it has to be a mix of those things," Peterson said.
"You deal with the dealers from a law enforcement aspect, but you have to strongly deal with that addict and even some of the other components, dealing with the collateral damage, that's the children and family members affected."
A method Peterson believes combats part of the problem is community policing, calling it a "way of life" more so than a concept or program.
"It's a way of getting to know the people in your neighborhood and creating relationships," Peterson said.
Alongside his son and two of his partners, Darryl Rodgers, Drug Court coordinator, and Jake Jones, executive director of NEOCAP, he teaches a program called New Jack Officers. He designed the program to explain how to deal with African-American males.
"We came up with that because we wanted to foster better relationships."
Peterson said there's a level of importance for police to have a presence in black spaces such as churches or barbershops, often considered as community anchors for African Americans.
The program drew attention from Gov. Mike DeWine when he was attorney general. Peterson said DeWine then appointed him to a statewide committee that would revisit police training, especially in terms of diversity.
"Now more so it's important over the last four or five years because of all the controversy that's centered around the relationship between the African-American community and law enforcement," Peterson said.
As he steps into retirement, Peterson plans to remain active with the program, which now is a curriculum at Kent State University at Trumbull.
Peterson and company also plan to take their training statewide for officers to attend.
"One of the things that I'm most proud about is the progression of change, because our officers' greatest weapon, to me, it's not their gun, their baton or Taser, it's verbal skills," Peterson said.
HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR
For many years, Peterson served as a hostage negotiator with the Mahoning Valley Crisis Response Team, a role he said found him. On April 8, 1996, when police surrounded the former Ponderosa restaurant on U.S. Route 422, where gunmen holed up during a 13-hour standoff, Peterson was the one thrust into the duty of talking them down.
"Sheriff Paul Monroe, who was turn commander at the time, told me, 'Go tell the FBI to let you negotiate. You know everybody,'" Peterson recalled.
Peterson's response: "I'm not going to tell the FBI that."
Monroe disappeared. Ten minutes later, Peterson said he heard over the radio, "We need Vince Peterson to come to the back of the building."
Several hours later, the first-time negotiator ensured everyone left safely. That began his career as a hostage negotiator. Now he's the assistant team leader for the hostage negotiation SWAT team.
"I had no idea what I was doing. So a lot of what I kept saying was what my mother and father used to tell me. They used to say, 'You made a mistake. Don't make it bigger by doing this,'" Peterson said.
Since then, Peterson said he's loved all 20-something years of negotiating.
In everything that Peterson has done in his law enforcement career, "Make a ministry and not just a job" has been his mantra.
"You have the opportunity to positively affect many people. So treat it more as a ministry," Peterson said.
He recalled a drug-addicted woman he encountered in 1991, and then throughout his career. She eventually was able to go to rehab and get clean. Some years later, Peterson said he got the chance to attend her wedding and see her graduate from Youngstown State University, from where Peterson also graduated. He played football for coach Jim Tressel.
Peterson said, "That day I went to surprise her at graduation and she saw me in the hallway and in front of all these graduates she starts screaming, 'This is my former probation officer and he helped me so much!' The ultimate goal of a probation officer isn't just to get them off probation, but to help them make life-changing decisions so that they never enter the system again."
PLANS
In his next life, Peterson, a prostate cancer survivor, plans to work with his fellow SWAT team member Malik Mostella, another cancer survivor, to encourage men to get checked and not to go on the journey alone after diagnosis.
Peterson, who also pastors Providence Baptist Church in Akron, said the church was uplifting and a source of power. But he also was inspired by his wife, Evelyn.
"When my wife was going through breast cancer, she was very open," Peterson said. "She didn't hide it from me and wanted to help other women. I learned from my wife."
Next year, Peterson and Mostella plan to put together a community event aimed at spreading awareness.
In his home life, Peterson said he was told, "My time would no longer be my time" as he expects to be doing more cleaning, dish washing and bedmaking, according to his wife. He also looks forward to spending more time with his "heart," also known as his grandchildren.