Joining forces: Siblings serve on Sterling Police Department

STERLING – A good chunk of Jamie Russell’s life was spent trying to make the basketball team she played on or coached end up with one more point than the opponent.

Now she will keep score in a different way: the number of bad guys she apprehends.

Russell and her younger brother, Bronson, are the latest additions to the Sterling Police Department. They both graduated from the University of Illinois Police Training Institute on April 29, following the completion of a 14-week, 560-hour basic law enforcement course.

In November, the Russells came to the realization that they wanted a change in their lives, and police work was something that appealed to both of them.

For Jamie, 31, it will be a chance to put the criminal justice degree she earned from Illinois State University in 2013 to use. It also puts an end to a basketball career that took her from Rock Falls to Wisconsin to Illinois State University to China to the Czech Republic and finally, back home to coach the Sauk Valley Community College women’s team, in 2019-20.

“Honestly, I had tunnel vision for so long – basketball, basketball, basketball,” Jamie said. “People always asked me when are you going to pursue your career? I was like, ‘Well, basketball is my career right now.’ I started coaching, and financially, it just wasn’t what it needs to be at this age.

“When Bronson was like, ‘Hey, the [Sterling] PD’s hiring,’ I was like, ‘You know what, yeah, it’s about time.’ It’s nice to be able to put the paper to use.”

Bronson, 24, joined the Marine Corps after graduating from Rock Falls High School in 2015. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and was deployed twice as an infantryman: once in Japan and South Korea, and the other in the Middle East. He was a sergeant when he left the military in June 2019.

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Borther and sister Bronson and Jamie Russell are the two newest patrol officer for the Sterling Police Department. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@shawmedia.com)

Bronson then worked at Sterling Steel Co. for more than a year, and while it paid well, he found it less than fulfilling, compared to his military service.

“Being in the military, I lived such a different lifestyle,” Bronson said. “There was always something about being better and being able to do stuff for other people. After coming home, I started to get comfortable and complacent, and I saw that I wasn’t living up to that expectation anymore. I wasn’t happy with what I was doing.

“When I saw this opportunity arise, I pretty much just figured what better way to do it than to serve and protect my own home where I grew up, where my nieces and nephews are going to be raised.”

Bronson noted his military background should help him for what he’ll face being a Sterling police officer, be it physically or mentally.

“I was always enduring strenuous training every day, and being used to being in high-stress situations,” Bronson said. “It keeps me more observant. I’m a people-person, because I’m used to encountering a lot of people and talking to them. I think it will help a lot.”

While at the training academy in Champaign, Bronson’s military experience came in handy. He finished with the second-highest score in firearms training, out of 60 men.

Jamie, however, went beyond that. She won a fitness award with the highest overall score out of 20 women.

“We both accomplished some good things down there,” Jamie said.

Jamie aced the physical part of her training despite a right knee that underwent three ACL surgeries, as well as one torn meniscus. That balky knee was what ended her playing career 3 years ago.

“It’s good enough to get me through everyday life, outside of being an athlete,” Jamie said. “I have my days where I’m like, ‘Wow, I can tell I’ve had some things done there,’ but it’s nothing I can’t get through.”

Giving up hoops, however, was not easy. She loved the 5 years she spent playing in Prague, Czech Republic, as it allowed her to play the game she loves all over Europe until her knee had had enough. She tried coaching, then had various part-time jobs before deciding police work was the way to go.

“For a whole year and a half, I kept trying to justify why I needed to stick around basketball and do the coaching, and that’s my life,” Jamie said. “I kind of forgot that there’s more chapters in my life, and it’s OK for me to pursue something else. It’s not like I don’t recognize what basketball did for me, but it also led me to here. I’m at the age now where I’m way more comfortable pursuing a career like this than I would have been at 23 and just out of college.”

The Russells will perform administrative duties and undergo various training in the early days as Sterling police officers. Tuesday, they were tasered – an exercise to show using such force should be done with caution. Rifle training was Wednesday.

Bronson accompanied field training officer Harry Blomstrand for a shift in a patrol car. Jamie will be with field patrol officer Clay Hadley on Friday. They will be with a field patrol officer for a month, and after 3 months, be ready for a solo shift.

The inherent danger of being a police officer is something the Russells barely gave a second thought to. For Bronson, it follows in line with his military service.

“I’ve always lived life not worried about fear of death and danger,” Bronson said.

“I feel like living life safely, you get too complacent,” Jamie added. “They teach officer safety – that’s the biggest thing they taught us at the academy, and that’s the biggest thing they speak about here. I trust in our training, and I trust in our officers here that we’re going to be OK.”

Years down the road, when the Russells are seasoned police officers, the siblings noted they would relish the opportunity to be partners.

“Absolutely,” Bronson said.

“He’ll be the first one to run into a burning building,” Jamie said. “I’ll stay outside and radio in.”