He drives around campus slowly in his patrol car. Even while being questioned for an interview, University Police officer Corporal Terrell Smith is able to scan the area for potential criminal activity and listen to the dispatcher all at once without missing a beat.
Occasionally he yells out his window with a smile while making his rounds.
"You staying outta trouble?" he asks a passing student.
While patrolling, Smith receives a phone call from another officer on duty. Smith declines his offer to eat dinner with him.
"Sometimes we are too busy to eat while patrolling," Smith said. "When we do finally get a chance to sit down at a restaurant on break, we have to go."
When asked about the hot spots cops hang out at on campus, Smith said he stays away from the gas stations. Because some officers take their breaks together, he doesn't want to be one who falls under the "cops hanging out and eating doughnuts" stereotype.
"We need to take a break too," Smith said. "Your legs cramp up when you sit in the car for seven hours."
After checking the parking lots around campus for broken bottles, vehicles with their lights on or people locked out of their cars, he proceeds to his next stop at Irving Gym.
"Sometimes the intramural basketball games get pretty rough," Smith said.
When he enters the gym, several passing students stop to chat with him. Others wave, smile and ask "What's up, 'T?'"
After the game, Smith patrols the upper corridors of Irving Gym, glancing down at the gymnasium's lower level. Another group of students recognizes him from below.
"'What's up, Officer Friendly?" one of them, a player engaged in a game of pickup basketball, asks.
"Nothing, you stayin' outta trouble?" Smith asks the young man.
Along with keeping students in line, Smith has proven himself to be a man whom many count on when they find themselves in a dilemma.
Beth Bohannon, a member of the Code Red dance team, a group Smith has nicknamed "'Rell's Angels," said Smith has been a great body guard for the squad.
"During football games the crowd can get kind of wild, especially when the goal posts came down," Bohannon said. "If we ever have a problem, we know we can go to him."
Smith said he just wants to make sure he is always available when students need a helping hand.
"Even if I can't remember every student's name," Smith said. "I try to put myself out there and meet as many students as I can."
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