When Matt Woodmansee was in kindergarten in Cabool, he was intrigued by a law enforcement officer’s career day presentation.
Now 24 years old, Woodmansee is following in that officer’s footsteps. He is in his third year an officer with the Houston Police Department.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was little,” Woodmansee said. “I don’t remember who talked to us, but it was a Cabool police officer. When I heard him, that’s what I’ve wanted to do ever since.”
Woodmansee began his law enforcement career shortly after he graduated from Cabool High School, working as a jailer at the Texas County Jail for about three years. He became a policeman after attending a Missouri Sheriff’s Association 700-hour class in West Plains.
Woodmansee’s initial expectations of being a cop differ from what he sees in reality.
“I like helping people, but that doesn’t happen as much as I expected it to,” he said. “It makes you feel good when you can help someone, but it’s hard dealing with the same people over and over and seeing that they’re never going to change even if you do try to help them. A lot of times they say they’re done –– even when they’re in jail, they say they’re never going to be back and then a month later they’re back.
“That gets very frustrating.”
In addition to patrolling the streets of Houston on a rotating shift basis, Woodmansee and his cohorts maintain an ongoing regimen of training, much of which is required by the state. Last week, he and fellow officer Brad Evans spent time working with handguns and shotguns on the firing range at the Big Piney Sportsman’s Club near Houston.
“You have to have so many hours every few years to keep your post certification,” Woodmansee said. “A lot of them are in-house, like our firing range and taser work, but for some we go to other places.”
In July, Woodmansee and Evans will be attending a week-long Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Advisory Council (LETSAC) conference at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, a training session supported by the Missouri Police Chief’s Association under the authority of Missouri Department of Transportation’s Traffic and Highway Safety Division.
“I’ve also trained at Jeff City, Rolla, with Troop G –– all sorts of different places,” Woodmansee said. “You meet officers from all over the state. That’s neat.”
Woodmansee said he respects and enjoys working with the staff at Houston’s police department.
“I don’t think I’d want to work with anybody else,” he said. “They’re a good group of guys.”
He views Chief Jim McNiell as the special kind of boss.
“I’m glad I have the chance to work for him,” Woodmansee said. “He actually cares about you. He wouldn’t have you do something he wouldn’t do. He’s just a great guy.”
“Matt exhibits a lot of energy and he’s a hard worker,” McNiell said. “He doesn’t have very many years of experience, but he displays the ability of a more experienced officer. I’m very impressed with his ability and his well-rounded enforcement, and he needs very little supervision.
“We’re working on the few areas of weakness he does have, but he’s a joy to have and an excellent officer.”
Woodmansee is engaged to Houston High School graduate Breonna Richards. The couple plans to marry in October. He said he doesn’t feel a compelled to climb the company ladder, so to speak.
“I’ve thought about going to the highway patrol and maybe moving up, but I’m happy here,” he said. “If I move up here later on, then I move up. If not, I’m OK with that, too.”