Durango Police Officer Relishes Life in Mountains and Desert

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As a Manatee County, Sheriff's deputy

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in Florida Durango Police

Officer Jonathan Meisner ,

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dealt with suffocating,

heat, humidity, hurricanes,

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and manatees, and boy does

he relish the difference

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living in Durango.

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You're watching the local news networks,

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First responder spotlight,

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celebrating the men and women

who keep our community safe.

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Brought to you by the

Bank of the San Juan's

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one big happy little bank,

serving Durango Colorado.

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Officer Meisner, moved to

Durango about a year ago,

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realizing a lifelong dream to live

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in the mountains and to

serve in law enforcement.

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As a kid, he used to ride along

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on police patrols with family, friends

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and he often visited Durango

area relatives in summer.

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I've always loved the mountains,

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when you grow up

somewhere flat, going back

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it's tough because there's no landmarks.

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You can't look up and see the sky,

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see the mountains in the background

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you just see trees and you know

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what's right in front of you

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there's nothing past that.

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Meisner's road to Durango

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and policing was somewhat circuitous.

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He graduated from the

university of South Florida

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with a degree in Business Management

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and spent several years

in the corporate world

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before he decided to

enter the Police Academy.

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After graduation, he

quickly hired on as a deputy

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in his home County where he

dealt with all of the usual

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kinds of cases that any

community might have

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except perhaps rescuing stranded manatees

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washed ashore during hurricanes,

no manatees in Durango

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but patrol officers

occasionally answer calls

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about troublesome bears or

rescuing a deer stuck on a fence.

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Yeah, it was, it was one

of those it's like, huh

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I've never dealt with this before,

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you know, how do we, how do

we get a deer off offense?

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I've never figured this one out, but...

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When he's not working

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Miser takes every opportunity

to go camping or hiking

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or to capture that perfect

scenic shot with his camera.

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When he's on the job, Miser

encourages Durango residents

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to pay attention when they're driving,

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and to treat each other with kindness

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Drive safely, slow down, you know

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pay attention to your surroundings

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I mean, that's, that's got to

be one of the biggest issues

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everywhere that you go,

people just not using

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appropriate caution when they're driving

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and losing sight of what they're doing

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and you know, causing accidents

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and causing people to get hurt.

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You know, the majority, the

vast majority of accidents

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are avoidable and usually it's something

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as simple as just slow down

and if you're in doubt,

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maybe don't pull out into traffic

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maybe don't make that turn,

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maybe wait a second, you know,

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maybe wait for better opening and traffic

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whatever it might be.

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That would be one of those

that we'd all benefit.

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If everyone did that, be kind to people.

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I mean, just to, to go out and to try

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to put yourself in other people's shoes

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to try to understand what

they're going through,

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and to show greater appreciation

for others around you.

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Thanks for watching our

First Responders Spotlight

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brought to you by the

Bank of the San Juan's

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and the local news network.

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I'm Wendy Graham settle,

be safe out there.

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There's a certain type

of person that thrives

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in Colorado strong, independent, fierce.

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We should know we were born here.

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Bank of the San Juan's

one big happy little bank.

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