Durango Police Officer Jonathan Mizner grew up in Florida and worked as a Manatee County sheriff's deputy before hiring on in Durango, and he relishes the differences between the two environments.
1
00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:10,810
As a Manatee County, Sheriff's deputy
2
00:00:10,810 --> 00:00:13,960
in Florida Durango Police
Officer Jonathan Meisner ,
3
00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,150
dealt with suffocating,
heat, humidity, hurricanes,
4
00:00:17,150 --> 00:00:20,520
and manatees, and boy does
he relish the difference
5
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,470
living in Durango.
6
00:00:22,470 --> 00:00:24,330
You're watching the local news networks,
7
00:00:24,330 --> 00:00:26,280
First responder spotlight,
8
00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:30,050
celebrating the men and women
who keep our community safe.
9
00:00:30,050 --> 00:00:32,620
Brought to you by the
Bank of the San Juan's
10
00:00:32,620 --> 00:00:35,883
one big happy little bank,
serving Durango Colorado.
11
00:00:36,740 --> 00:00:39,780
Officer Meisner, moved to
Durango about a year ago,
12
00:00:39,780 --> 00:00:41,850
realizing a lifelong dream to live
13
00:00:41,850 --> 00:00:44,800
in the mountains and to
serve in law enforcement.
14
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,390
As a kid, he used to ride along
15
00:00:46,390 --> 00:00:48,490
on police patrols with family, friends
16
00:00:48,490 --> 00:00:52,573
and he often visited Durango
area relatives in summer.
17
00:00:53,410 --> 00:00:54,560
I've always loved the mountains,
18
00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,050
when you grow up
somewhere flat, going back
19
00:00:58,050 --> 00:00:59,800
it's tough because there's no landmarks.
20
00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,400
You can't look up and see the sky,
21
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:03,960
see the mountains in the background
22
00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:05,900
you just see trees and you know
23
00:01:05,900 --> 00:01:06,733
what's right in front of you
24
00:01:06,733 --> 00:01:08,200
there's nothing past that.
25
00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:09,730
Meisner's road to Durango
26
00:01:09,730 --> 00:01:12,320
and policing was somewhat circuitous.
27
00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:15,010
He graduated from the
university of South Florida
28
00:01:15,010 --> 00:01:16,980
with a degree in Business Management
29
00:01:16,980 --> 00:01:19,350
and spent several years
in the corporate world
30
00:01:19,350 --> 00:01:22,650
before he decided to
enter the Police Academy.
31
00:01:22,650 --> 00:01:25,450
After graduation, he
quickly hired on as a deputy
32
00:01:25,450 --> 00:01:28,720
in his home County where he
dealt with all of the usual
33
00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,510
kinds of cases that any
community might have
34
00:01:31,510 --> 00:01:35,130
except perhaps rescuing stranded manatees
35
00:01:35,130 --> 00:01:39,680
washed ashore during hurricanes,
no manatees in Durango
36
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,580
but patrol officers
occasionally answer calls
37
00:01:42,580 --> 00:01:46,163
about troublesome bears or
rescuing a deer stuck on a fence.
38
00:01:47,117 --> 00:01:49,083
Yeah, it was, it was one
of those it's like, huh
39
00:01:49,083 --> 00:01:51,360
I've never dealt with this before,
40
00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,340
you know, how do we, how do
we get a deer off offense?
41
00:01:53,340 --> 00:01:55,580
I've never figured this one out, but...
42
00:01:55,580 --> 00:01:56,700
When he's not working
43
00:01:56,700 --> 00:01:59,147
Miser takes every opportunity
to go camping or hiking
44
00:01:59,147 --> 00:02:03,270
or to capture that perfect
scenic shot with his camera.
45
00:02:03,270 --> 00:02:06,570
When he's on the job, Miser
encourages Durango residents
46
00:02:06,570 --> 00:02:08,860
to pay attention when they're driving,
47
00:02:08,860 --> 00:02:10,920
and to treat each other with kindness
48
00:02:11,780 --> 00:02:14,300
Drive safely, slow down, you know
49
00:02:14,300 --> 00:02:15,850
pay attention to your surroundings
50
00:02:15,850 --> 00:02:18,530
I mean, that's, that's got to
be one of the biggest issues
51
00:02:18,530 --> 00:02:23,150
everywhere that you go,
people just not using
52
00:02:23,150 --> 00:02:24,800
appropriate caution when they're driving
53
00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:26,700
and losing sight of what they're doing
54
00:02:26,700 --> 00:02:28,540
and you know, causing accidents
55
00:02:28,540 --> 00:02:30,313
and causing people to get hurt.
56
00:02:31,540 --> 00:02:33,960
You know, the majority, the
vast majority of accidents
57
00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,110
are avoidable and usually it's something
58
00:02:37,110 --> 00:02:40,060
as simple as just slow down
and if you're in doubt,
59
00:02:40,060 --> 00:02:41,860
maybe don't pull out into traffic
60
00:02:41,860 --> 00:02:42,760
maybe don't make that turn,
61
00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:43,710
maybe wait a second, you know,
62
00:02:43,710 --> 00:02:45,420
maybe wait for better opening and traffic
63
00:02:45,420 --> 00:02:46,470
whatever it might be.
64
00:02:47,690 --> 00:02:50,600
That would be one of those
that we'd all benefit.
65
00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,468
If everyone did that, be kind to people.
66
00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,400
I mean, just to, to go out and to try
67
00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,130
to put yourself in other people's shoes
68
00:02:59,130 --> 00:03:01,690
to try to understand what
they're going through,
69
00:03:01,690 --> 00:03:06,690
and to show greater appreciation
for others around you.
70
00:03:07,110 --> 00:03:09,550
Thanks for watching our
First Responders Spotlight
71
00:03:09,550 --> 00:03:11,860
brought to you by the
Bank of the San Juan's
72
00:03:11,860 --> 00:03:13,550
and the local news network.
73
00:03:13,550 --> 00:03:16,163
I'm Wendy Graham settle,
be safe out there.
74
00:03:17,740 --> 00:03:19,670
There's a certain type
of person that thrives
75
00:03:19,670 --> 00:03:24,003
in Colorado strong, independent, fierce.
76
00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,920
We should know we were born here.
77
00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:31,253
Bank of the San Juan's
one big happy little bank.
.png)
