In December of 2014, Hastings High School hired a new school resource police officer. Travis Beahm replaced Brant Eigenberg, who left to pursue other career opportunities. Officer Beahm has been in the law enforcement for 14 years, six of those were spent in the military.
“I have always known that I wanted to go into law enforcement,” Beahm said.
He has dealt with high speed chases, “wanna be” gangs, murder scenes, drug abuse, fights and even racism and disrespect towards him. He says the job can be a challenging one.
“We are trying to save people’s lives but we can’t save the world.” Beahm said.
Beahm had just gotten out of the military when the disaster of 9/11 happened. He was offered a position as a cop, although he had to put his job on hold because he got called back to the military to help with the destruction. Beahm said the position in the high school is different than regular patrol.
“Being here is like being trapped in an island with all these different people,” Beahm said.
Working at the high school is a little different than working out in the community. He has dealt with a lot of strange things here and he also does some counseling. He spends his days doing paperwork, checking cameras, and walking around the parking lot. Beahm said he welcomes the challenge but it is an adjustment.
“It’s a love/hate relationship with this job.” Beahm said.
