Imprinted on his bracelet were the words "Never Forgotten."
Brandon Qualls has worn the bracelet in memory of fallen police officers since he went to the Police Academy one year ago.
Qualls, a Ball State University police officer, hasn't taken the bracelet off all year - throughout the 30 weeks of police training - and won't for the rest of his time as an officer.
Qualls was going to be a senior criminal justice major one year ago until there was an opening at the University Police Department.
He's had the goal of becoming a police officer since he was a kid, and it finally happened.
"When you take this job, you take an oath to uphold the laws of Indiana [and] that you'll uphold the rules of the university," Qualls said. "And that's what I do."
But now that he joined the department and took a year off of school, he plans to take classes again in the fall, juggling class and a 40-hour job unlike any other.
LIFESTYLE
Qualls said one of the hardest things for him, as an officer, doesn't happen while patrolling. It happens when he clocks out and comes home and continues to think like he's on duty. He could go to the grocery store for a quick errand or out to dinner with his wife, and it happens.
He watches license plates, people's hands and bunches in people's clothes for weapons.
"It's built in," he said. "It's how you work during your shift."
Qualls said his father, a fellow police officer, has had a hard time dealing with turning police mode off and living life off-duty.
His wife has told him to relax while eating dinners in restaurants, Qualls said, and he tells himself that while driving so he doesn't eye everyone's license plate to see if they are expired.
But while on the job, Qualls' day starts when he wakes up around 10 a.m. He has the afternoon shift from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., patrolling within an area between McGalliard Road, Wheeling Avenue, Tillotson Avenue and the White River Boulevard.
He enjoys that his job never has a routine, he said, and he could respond to a theft call one moment and be on a foot pursuit the next. Qualls goes through so many calls some nights that when he comes home, he has so much adrenaline flowing that he can't fall asleep until 2 a.m., he said.
He said he realized being a police officer was different from any other job because he sometimes had to make decisions in seconds.
"And our decisions not only have an impact on our lives, but on bystanders' lives, on victims' lives and on suspects' lives," Qualls said.
What sticks out in Qualls' memory though are the times when people say 'thank you' after a call, he said.
Once, he said he waited 20 minutes with a family whose van broke down until a tow truck came.
"You never know," he said. "Just being able to help somebody means a lot."
ACADEMY
When Qualls sent his resume to the police force, he said he didn't know if he would get accepted. He later received a call from the department to get a physical, take an agility test, do two interviews, perform a drug test and do a polygraph test.
Qualls passed all his examinations, and the department sent him to a Police Academy for about 15 weeks.
Qualls learned the basics to become a police officer, he said, and it was like a boot camp for future officers. He and about 116 other people in his class stayed at the camp for four to five days out of the week.
He trained at the firing rang, practicing high speed chase maneuvers and learning physical defense tactics at the academy. Sometimes he took 10 hours of class a day, he said.
Once back from the academy, he drove with a senior officer for about another 15 weeks. The older officers gave Qualls advice and tried to see if he was ready to patrol alone.
The academy and the constant training helped Qualls become vigilant and learn that as an officer, he will make unpopular decisions.
"But it's the right thing to do," he said. "It's what you are supposed to do."
Qualls sees other students he knows while on patrol, but it doesn't matter to him. He said he had to do his job regardless of who committed the penalty.
Qualls said he would stay with University Police until he retired in another 20 to 30 years. During that time, he plans on finishing his bachelor's degree starting the Fall Semester, and he might work on a master's degree later.
Director of Public Safety Gene Burton and Robert Fey, associate director of Public Safety, were unavailable for comment.
SUPPORT
Since he was young, Qualls said he has wanted to be a police officer and help people. His friends don't think differently of Qualls as a police officer because that's what he's always talked about, he said.
"I think it's one of the best jobs to have; you really get a chance to help people on a daily basis," he said.
Qualls said his father also made him want to become a police officer. Bruce Qualls has been on the Muncie Police Department for 25 years, since before Brandon Qualls was born. He is the head of the traffic division.
"He's extremely proud," Brandon Qualls said, although his father would have supported him no matter what he wanted to do.
Brandon Qualls said his mother also was proud of her son, even if she wished he did something safer.
She's said before that she's worried about his father for 25 years, and now he has to worry about him for another 25, Brandon Qualls said. But with that said, she still supports him, which is all that's important for Qualls, he said.
Qualls' new wife also worries about him, but she's made him promise to be safe.
"My number one rule is that I'm going home at the end of my shift," he said. "I promised my fiancee I'd be careful, so I'm careful all the time."
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