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Holladay’s New and Unique Officers

Jun 29, 2016 10:17AM ● By Carol Hendrycks

Officer Tiana Hunter.

by Carol Hendrycks | [email protected]

Holladay

Most Holladay residents have met and know many of our dedicated law enforcement officers and can attest to what a wonderful crew of good-natured individuals we have working in our backyard. The newest officer, having been at the Holladay precinct just short of month, is Lieutenant Paul S. Jaroscak, a law enforcement veteran of 39 years, including eight years at the Azusa Police Department (L.A) and 31 with the Unified Police Department Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office. He has been a lieutenant for the past nine years and comes from a long line of officers, with his grandparents and brother all having served in Los Angeles and two of his sons serving in the Salt Lake area.


Jaroscak was born and raised in Los Angeles. He and his wife of 40 years, Debbie, came to the Salt Lake area in the 1980s and fell in love with the great outdoors here. Before permanently moving here in 1992, Jaroscak had seen and was involved with sensitive and very public events. Some of these career highlights include participating in “Operation Hammer” in 1988, a 1,000-officer anti-gang enforcement effort in Los Angeles. He also recalled his stories about working in South Central Los Angeles (LAPD Southeast area) during the 1992 Rodney King riots and four straight years running on LAPD teams in the Baker-Vegas Race, a 120-mile relay race through the California and Nevada deserts attracting teams from all over the world. His team took third place out of 100+ teams. Jaroscak was also fortunate to be a part of the Olympic coordination during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake, which Center is a major event Joint Information Center operation for an event and security of this size.

 It’s safe to say that Jaroscak has seen and been part of many assignments through his career, having 15 years of experience as a patrol officer and supervisor, traffic accident investigator and detective, undercover worker in narcotics, crimes against youth, a human resources sergeant, public information officer, internal affairs unit commander and investigations lieutenant. When he says he’s likes to be around people, help others, instill a friendly atmosphere and most importantly “do unto others as they would do unto you,” he talks it and the walks it. His coworkers, including boss Chief Hutson, a long-time friend, have a great working rapport and are excited to have Jaroscak join the UPD Holladay family. He looks forward to helping mentor younger officers, accomplishing more efficient processes and keeping the atmosphere light and approachable both internally and with the public. 

Holladay is also lucky to have Officer Tiana Hunter, the first female motorcade officer in Holladay and only the second in the state to proudly ride and patrol on a 1,000-pound bike — more on that later. Hunter came to Holladay in January 2011 and instantly called it home.  After five years in Holladay, she has no plans to leave here and loves working in Holladay.  Hunter says, “We have a great command staff, I have great coworkers and we have an amazing community.” 

Like Jaroscak, Hunter has a remarkable background and comes from a long line of officers. Hunter is the youngest of five children with four older brothers. Her husband is a retired police officer from the Unified Police Department with the Salt Lake County Sherriff’s Office and works full time at Sandy City. One of her stepsons was just sworn in as a protective services officer after working as a correctional officer for a year with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office. She has an 11-year-old son with autism and a 9-year-old daughter in addition to two adult stepsons and a 12-year-old stepdaughter. Both of her parents were born in Indonesia and moved to the Netherlands as kids, where they became friends. When her father was just 11 years old, his family immigrated to Utah for a better life. Her father, whom she refers to as “Opa Jack,” joined the U.S. Army and retired at age 37. He also served as a lieutenant with the Dutch Royal Police in the Netherlands and was a motorcycle officer back in Indonesia. At 19 years old her mother came to the U.S. to visit her father, where they secretly got married before she went back home. Both families found out about the secret marriage and a formal wedding was held a year later, after which they came back to the United States via an army transfer.  

 Hunter became interested in law enforcement in the third grade when Officer Sanders with the Sandy Police Department and the DARE campaign had a big impact on her life. Hunter said, “I wanted to serve my country and community just like my ‘Opa Jack,’” who as a police officer in Indonesia. Just after her daughter was born and her son turned 2, she joined the POST Academy at Salt Lake Community College in January 2007. It wasn’t easy holding a full-time job, being a parent and attending law enforcement classes in the evening. Her career has taken her from special functions officer certified with the Draper Police Department as a reserve officer in June 2007 to deputy with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office in 2008 to a graveyard shift in Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek, then to the southeast communities known as White City and back to Millcreek.

 In October 2015, she had her first test for motors. Officer Jason Smith “Smitty” and Sergeant Visher laid the bike down on its side and Smitty said, “Pick it up.”  After picking it up and resting it on the side stand (kickstand), he laid it down on the opposite side and told her to do it again. She tested and received notification that she was going to motor school. She is the first female with the department to even attend motor school, and passed the test in rain and snow.  Hunter is the first female in the 100-year history of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Unified Police Department to become a certified motor officer. Her duties include enforcing traffic laws, handling traffic accidents, conducting follow-up investigations on all hit-and-run accidents, and handling all traffic-related complaints. Her secondary assignment is within the motors unit. 

The unit has 18 officers, five of whom are full-time officers within the Special Operations Motors Unit and one sergeant. They enforce traffic laws, assist patrol divisions, support canyon patrol, issue DUIs and enforce seat belt laws. They also have the honor of providing funeral escorts, dignitary escorts and participating in numerous parades, charity events and community gatherings. Now that the summer months are here, Hunter will be riding her motorbike, so don’t miss the chance to say hello to Officer Hunter at the many outdoor activities in Holladay.

Both officers agree it’s very important to enjoy what you are doing and enjoy who you are working with. After all, they spend more time with their law enforcement family than they do with their own families. And as a final note, both officers commented on the outpouring of support from our community when tragedy struck with Officer Doug Barney killed and Officer Richey wounded. Residents brought flowers, cards and a variety of food to the Holladay precinct for our officers for weeks. Hunter humbly said, “It was very much appreciated, especially while we were mourning the loss of our brother and offering support to his wife and children.”    λ