By Maddie Seiler
The Sentinel, Carlisle, Pa.
UPPER ALLEN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — It’s no secret that the job of a first responder is anything but easy.
Taking calls can mean long hours, time away from family and PTSD. But every day hundreds of men and women in Cumberland County answer those calls.
Every week, The Sentinel’s Sirens for Service feature will aim to show the faces of these people and share their stories.
The series focuses on why they became a first responder and highlights a specific call from their service that influenced them and reminds them of why they do what they do.
Tom Dombroski
Agency: Upper Allen Police Department
Title: Sergeant
Time with company: 21 years
Q: Why did you become a first responder?
A: So I always wanted to help people and in law enforcement, it’s kind of cliche because that’s what we do, and we all get into this job to help people, but I truly wanted to try to make a difference in the community that I was serving.
When I was younger, I played youth sports. I always enjoyed working together as a team with people, always considered myself a leader and wanted to try to make a difference, and with this profession I’m able to do that on a daily basis.
I actually intended on going to law school as my chosen profession, and it didn’t work out academically for me, and in hindsight it probably was a better thing for me career-wise in my career path because this truly is a noble profession and it’s one that I enjoy working in, and it’s a variety every day.
You don’t know what we’re going to encounter and what we’re going to walk into, and just wanting to help and wanting to serve the public was something that I always wanted to do, so I’m glad in hindsight it worked out that way to where I have the privilege of working in this profession.
Q: Can you describe a call that has influenced you? What did that call look like and why did it impact you?
A: I remember one time when I pulled over a car and it was for suspicion of DUI. The driver was driving down Route 15 , he was driving all over the roadway and I pulled him over, conducted an interview, conducted an investigation, and I ultimately arrested him for DUI, and he was a resident of the township.
Years later, I saw this individual as we were dealing with issues with his children, and he saw me and he immediately noticed me and he told me that that experience, which was negative for him at the time, ultimately ended up being positive because he was able to turn his life around.
He was able to become sober and … the decisions he was making at that time weren’t good ones and it kind of opened his eyes to, “I’d better straighten up,” at least that’s the impression I got.
So he actually thanked me, he actually hugged me while we’re dealing on a domestic incident involving his children, and he actually pointed out to his children telling them that, “This officer saved my life, this officer arrested me years ago but now he’s turned my life around and I’m grateful for it.”
He tried to instill that lesson into his children when we were there trying to solve that problem at the time.
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