Police Officer of the Year

“When I have really bad days, I just want to stay home,” says Mindy Barcus of her job as a police officer. “But when I go to church, I feel better.”

A 10-year police veteran, Sister Barcus spends her time investigating fraud, embezzling, counterfeiting, bad checks, and other paper crimes. She occasionally speaks to senior citizen groups to advise them about scams to watch out for, and she is a member of the Springfield, Ohio, police department’s hostage negotiating team. Recently she was honored as police officer of the year.

Real police work is not like it is portrayed in the movies, Sister Barcus says. Sometimes there are exciting chases, but mostly it is “tons of paperwork.” She points out that police work means going to work every day with the knowledge that she might have to put her life in jeopardy.

Sister Barcus is Primary president in the Springfield Ward, Dayton Ohio East Stake. Her husband, Tim, has been a police officer for seven years and now works with new recruits as a field training officer. In the ward he serves as secretary in the elders quorum presidency. The Barcuses have two children.

“The Church has given me a lot of strength to deal with the difficult challenges that come up,” Sister Barcus says.—Nancy Brown, Medway, Ohio