Recently, we interviewed John Calhoon, the Undersheriff for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (KS), about the importance of establishing State Property and Evidence Associations for law enforcement agencies nationwide. Admittedly, he had never given much thought to them in the past – but all of that changed in April of this year.
Before we dive into how he came to understand the value and contribution of evidence management departments and personnel, let’s take a step back and lay the groundwork for John’s mind-blowing rise-through-the-ranks history in law enforcement.
Let’s take a step back in time…
In 1985, John worked as an office equipment repairman (pre-computers). He was going to schools and government agencies to repair (mostly) typewriters. One government agency happened to be a Sheriff’s Office down the alley from an office that John worked out of. Although he can’t remember the exact details about how he got involved with the Sheriff’s office, he started in reserves at the age of 21 in Brown County, KS.
(Strap yourselves in, folks. This is where John’s career starts to take on a life of its own.)
After 6 months, he was hired as a Patrolman in Horton, KS. Three years later, he became a Sergeant with the Horton Police Department. After another three years, he was promoted to Assistant Chief of Police/D.A.R.E. Officer in Horton, KS – where he served for two years before being appointed to the position of Sheriff (1994 – 2013). Then he became a Captain – where he currently serves as Undersheriff – before returning to Horton as Chief of Police – a position he held from 2013 to 2020.
2020… the year he decided to retire after nearly 35 years in law enforcement.
(***Spoiler Alert: Retirement didn’t exactly stick.)
By “retire,” we mean he still served as the City Administrator of Horton, KS – a role he took on while ALSO being the Chief of Police. Throughout the years, John was on countless law enforcement boards, committees, associations, and councils.
He was also a member of the Rotary Club, The Elks Lodge, the Juvenile Justice Authority, the Community Corrections Advisory Board, and is a Charter Member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Atchison County. He organized and chaired a newly formed Community Booster Club in Atchison and coordinated fundraising efforts for a new Football School Board and Finances of the club.
But “retirement” didn’t suit him. Not that anyone would call that retiring.
Soon, John started looking for work outside of law enforcement. He was still in good health and wanted a better lifestyle than his benefits provided at the time. He was offered a job with the postal service and looked into opportunities in the insurance industry. But, nothing really called to him the way public service had.
Then, a good friend – a Sheriff at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office – called and asked if John would be interested in becoming a Detective Sergeant who could help with enhancing the evidence room and conducting background investigations.
He accepted the position and found himself “Amazed by the lack of detail in the evidence unit.”
He discovered (among MANY other things):
- Large sums of cash from old cases
- Misplaced or undocumented evidence in the evidence management system
- Poor tracking of property releases
- Lack of policies and procedures
Now, let’s dive into the first half of the interview with John…
***Kristee Ulerick and James Nally of FileOnQ
James Nally, a Physical & Digital Evidence Consultant with FileOnQ – who enjoyed a 30-year career in law enforcement – opened by saying, “Our vision for the OnQ Evidence Network is to bring awareness to our industry and elevate its culture. We’re doing that through unifying states with no property evidence associations and bringing other states into the loop so that we have communication between the different states. Someday, down the line, we might be able to form a national association that will represent all the states.
But first and foremost, John, I really want to thank you for taking the time to come and be a part of this because having administrators support property and evidence is the first step in trying to elevate our industry.
We wanted to talk to you and learn about who John Calhoon is, what revelations you had when you went to the property and evidence room, and why having a state association in Kansas is important to you. Thank you for speaking with us today, John.”
John Calhoon: “I’m happy to be here. Obviously, I’m seeing the importance of state evidence associations, and I’m so excited to get one started in Kansas. It seems like we should have done this 30 or 40 years ago.”
James Nally: Sometimes, it’s a hard task. Each state has to have those go-getters that really want to put something together. Then once that happens, it becomes a team effort for everyone to stay involved and do their little part in it. Which makes it just… go.
In California, I was involved with CAPE – California Association of Property and Evidence – for over eight years, but that association has been around since 1988. So, there’ve been many people before me, and hopefully many people after me, that’ll help elevate the cause.
Let’s jump into some of the basic questions that we want to ask you. First and foremost, what inspired you to get into law enforcement? Was it something you always wanted to do?
John Calhoon: Actually, no, it was not. When I graduated from high school, I didn’t choose to go to college. I took a job and went to technical schools. I was working on office equipment – that was pre-computer, typewriter days – I was going into schools and government offices repairing typewriters.
I did that for a few years after high school, and lo and behold, I had a little bitty office in a small town, down the alley from a Sheriff’s Office. I’m not sure how exactly I got involved, but I decided to join what they called the reserve program. I started riding around and discovered that I loved it. It was so interesting that I was spending more time riding in a patrol car than I was at my business.
So within six months, I was 21 years old, I decided to get a part-time job with them. I started in corrections and dispatch. I did both at the same time for about six months – before I went full-time as a patrolman with a small agency in the area. It was a new challenge every day. In law enforcement, you never know what’s going to happen.
Unless you work in evidence, then you pretty much know what you’re going to do every day. But in most law enforcement jobs, you have different things every day.
I’m a very social person. I like people. I never thought it was cool to arrest people, but I do think it’s cool to be able to help victims, to be able to help people to communicate, make their days better. Obviously, you have to arrest suspects and do your job to help other people. But, my satisfaction always comes from helping other people.”
James Nally: “What do you think are the most important qualities for someone aspiring to be in a leadership position in law enforcement?”
John Calhoon: “Patience is a big thing. You have to understand people’s backgrounds. You have to try to understand why people act differently. Obviously, most people are good people. A lot of times, drugs and alcohol affect the decisions they make. So you’ve got to be somewhat forgiving.
It’s tough. It’s hard to forgive somebody for murder and other serious crimes like that, but every one of us is human, and you’ve just gotta have some patience and understanding. Which means some psychology comes along with that, too, to understand their background.
You have to be patient to understand people in order to get the big picture with them.”
James Nally: “Awesome. Thank you. Now we’re going to get to that evidence section, right? So can you tell me about your decision to retire and then return to an evidence management role… What motivated you?”
John Calhoon: “That happened kind of unexpectedly. About six months ago, a Sheriff – a good friend of mine here – came to me. We communicated on a weekly – if not daily basis – on different things. He called me up and said he knew I was looking for a job.
He said, ‘Hey, I have this opportunity if you are interested in it. I have an evidence specialist that’s leaving. Would you be interested in becoming a Detective Sergeant who could help enhance the evidence room and conduct background investigations?’
I said, sure, that’s interesting. So that’s how that came about. I got into the evidence room and was amazed by the lack of detail in the evidence unit because this is a very aggressive, professional law enforcement agency. So, I spent a great deal of time organizing that, as well as doing background investigations for the first six months.
I didn’t get to do many other investigations because that consumed much of my time. In order to get that evidence room straightened out and get some organization, I was going to have to commit as much time as possible.”
James Nally: “Did anything about taking over the evidence management unit surprise you when you first took that responsibility?”
John Calhoon: “Absolutely. I couldn’t believe how things were just thrown in there and forgotten about. I discovered large sums of money in cases that were five to eight years old. I discovered evidence that was not accounted for. Some things were just thrown in boxes. The tracking was not there for releasing property back to owners. There were basically no policies.
I was very alarmed at this, because the Sheriff here is very big on training, very big on professionalism. But, I think he’s like me… out of sight, out of mind.
So he didn’t spend much time there, because you don’t want your Sheriff and Undersheriff going into evidence rooms. But, they need to see the importance of it. I was a Sheriff for 19 years and a Police Chief for over 10 years, and I knew evidence was important. I mean, we know in the back of our mind that if you screw up something in evidence, you can lose a case.
You’ve got to be documenting when you’re processing this evidence, but I think we focus more on the packaging and the processing of evidence than we do on receiving and maintaining the evidence. I think that’s a lot of the evidence problem.”
James Nally: “What do you enjoy most about working in evidence compared to your previous positions?”
John Calhoon: It was something you could focus on – if you don’t mind having something routine. My days went by very fast when I was in evidence. I didn’t know what time it was most days. You really have to pay attention to detail. So your mind is focused, you don’t have time to drift off, and you don’t get engaged in a lot of other conversations because you’re working back there in your little hole. I really enjoyed it.”
James Nally: “I’ve noticed that the people who do really well in the evidence unit have a type A personality. They can focus and take a lot of personal pride in what they do, so they’re very protective of their unit.
I just want to ask you the last question, and then we’ll let you go for the day. If you’re going to offer one piece of advice to someone taking over an evidence role for the first time, whether they’re an administrator or just a sergeant coming in to oversee the unit, what’s some advice that you might want to give them?”
John Calhoon: “Definitely make it a priority. Make sure you understand the details involved in it. And certainly, if you’re new to taking over – just like me, even with all the years of experience that I’ve had – you can’t be afraid to reach out to your colleagues. Network, utilize IAPE.
I’ve always said that even when training new officers, you can get a little bit of knowledge from a lot of different people, and you can put together what you feel is the best for your position and your agency. But definitely don’t go in there and try to do things the way you think they ought to be done, because there are obviously laws that govern evidence.
Some people have had bad experiences with evidence, so there’s always something you can learn from your colleagues and from other professionals who have been involved with evidence.
I give that piece of advice to evidence techs, but also to people in general. You can always learn by observing, asking questions, and networking with your colleagues.”
James Nally: “One of the biggest things that took me a long time to learn – probably three-quarters of my career – before I understood it was that every item we touch has some story to it, right? Everything that comes through the unit, however small, however big, has some story. Typically, the evidence was probably from one of the worst days of that person’s life.
Each thing belongs to a stakeholder. One of the things that we fail to do as an agency is to recognize that people have the right to get their items back, and they have the right to justice.
And the right to have the evidence unit do its job properly so the case can be prosecuted properly. And I found no bigger example of that than the Coley-Bender case in California.
But I don’t want to get off topic. I want to enforce the principles behind why we do evidence management and the lives that hang in balance based on the items that we touch on a daily basis.
Here I am, standing on my high horse, trying to give advice to the young folks. And even some of the veteran property officers who have become complacent with the monotony of dealing with the day-to-day trinkets, scanning, and intake.
John, we really appreciate your taking the time to talk about your experience. Kristee (another Evidence Specialist & Consultant/SME with FileOnQ who arranged the interview with John) is big on trying to get support from administration because, a lot of times, things start at the top.
We can only do so much from the bottom, and I’d like to help get the ball rolling by reaching out to administrators in agencies that need some support and helping them understand what goes on in the evidence unit and what their role is for that, too.”
Stay tuned for Part 2, wherein we talk about the Coley-Bender case, gun storage and disposition, and
- 𝐓𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐎𝐧𝐐’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞… https://fileonq.com/
- 𝐓𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐄𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐐 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞… https://www.facebook.com/groups/1074898727107359/?should_open_composer=true
- 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐈𝐀𝐏𝐄 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧-𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝/𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫… https://welcome.iape.org/
- 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞.
𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝑱𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑵𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 – 𝒋𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒏@𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒒.𝒄𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒓 𝑲𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝑼𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 – 𝒌𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒖@𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒒.𝒄𝒐𝒎