INTERVIEWS WITH FIELD PERSONNEL
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Interview with Master Trooper W. K. Bennett
Duty Station: A7 Kinston
I grew up in Williamston, Martin County. The patrol was always well respected in Martin county. My dad knew a lot of the Troopers and they would stop by the house on occasion. I remember seeing B.W. Parker, Walter Parrish, Glen Raby, and Reid Roberts. I would see them out in public and they always seemed to command a lot of respect. I never really thought about joining the Patrol when I was growing up, so I can't say that it was a childhood dream. A few months after high school I decided I had better find something to do. B.W. Parker had come by the house one day for my dad to do some work on his car. I had mentioned I had given the patrol some thought. He had been retired for some time, but he told me he could help me try to get on. During the application process I worked as a police officer in Robersonville. I started the 95th Basic school on September 9, 1995. The commandant was Greg Hayes and the assistant commandant was David Henderson.
My first duty station was Kinston Troop A District 7. My primary FTO was David Kinlaw and my secondary was Jeff Mclawhorn. Never put in for promotion and never put in for a transfer. Other assignments include executive protection and Field Training Officer, I think I have trained about ten people. I have received awards from MADD, Red Cross life saving award, and the Samaritan award.
On April 7, 2010 I responded to Tick Bite reference to Deputies being shot at. I responded to the area and helped establish a perimeter. We would hear several shot aimed in our direction during the incident. A short time we learned the man in the woods was a homicide suspect from Craven county. The Patrol helicopter located the suspect laying down in the woods and guided the Lenoir County Special Response Team into the woods. Seconds later several shots were heard and “officer down” came over the radio. I grabbed my EMT bag and ran into the woods. I first came to Detective Allen Pearson who had been shot at close range with a high power hunting rifle. Shortly after I got to his side paramedics were on scene and took over care. This is when Detective Ryan Dawson realized he had been shot in the neck. I then began applying pressure on his wound to control the bleeding. I helped load him into the EMS truck and maintained pressure on his wound until he could be loaded onto East Care helicopter. Detective Allen died as a result of his injuries. Detective Ryan Dawson has since made a full recovery and returned to full duty.
I have worked third shift since 2001 so I see a lot of what goes on when the sun goes down. I have worked several hurricanes most notably when Kinston was flooded for several weeks back in 1999. I worked the West company explosion and spent a week at the mansion for terrorist detail after 9/11. I am also a member of the mobile field force and worked the socialist rally at the capitol when Raleigh police were almost overrun by the protestors.
I primarily work Lenoir county, but I do take calls in Jones . I work very closely with the Lenoir county sheriffs office. With me working third shift I work by myself and they are my back up. The most important part of my job is going home safely.
When not at work I spend the majority of my time managing our ATV race team. I keep up with sponsorship obligations, maintain the machines, and travel to and from the races. Daniel, my oldest son is a two-time national champion. Both my sons Daniel and Josh are very active in extreme sports so I spend a lot of time with kids at bmx parks. I am also a certified ASI instructor and teach ATV safety classes.
Respectfully submitted by Master Trooper J.S. Collins,
Troop A Traffic Safety Information Officer jscollins@ncshp.org 