When he was a teenager growing up in Los Angeles, Ed Solomon, 52, saw his fair share of gang violence happening around him. His high school, though, was blessed to have its own “rescue remedy”. Acting both as football coach and school police officer, Solomon’s role model, known as "Deputy Williams", handled the boys at the school with a mix of tough love, empathy, and authority.
“He would take the time to talk to the gang members and hear them out,” Solomon recalled. “If they needed assistance with work or references, he would be the person to put his name on the line.”
After high school, Solomon joined the military and became a police officer in the army, stationed for two years in Germany. After returning home to California, Solomon soon settled into family life with a wife and four children of his own. His dream of becoming a police officer was put on hold as he coached high school sports, worked in classrooms as a teacher’s assistant, and worked in fitness as a personal trainer.
It wasn’t till recent months that Solomon considered his old high school dream when his youngest son, Hunter, 22, decided he would like to become a police officer and completed Appalachian State University's criminal justice program.
“I was watching him go to college, and I thought I wanted to be a police officer too,” Solomon said. “I thought it would be cool if we could go through at the same timeline within the same year or so.”
Solomon’s wife researched program start dates and encouraged him to apply to A-B Tech’s program. Now, thanks in large part to his family’s steady support, Solomon just completed the six-month BLET program. Doing police training in his fifties, he said, has had its challenges. The program is both physically and academically rigorous. Doing the physical training, he said, wasn’t as difficult because he is in good physical shape. But the academic part was extremely challenging, with two exams per week. Despite this, Solomon has thrived and was nominated by his fellow classmates for a Trailblazer Award.
“He’s the dad of the group,” one student said. “A friend on hard days. He shows up for all of us.” “He inspires others to do their best,” another said.
Daryl Fisher, Director of BLET, attributes Solomon’s success to what he calls “quiet competence.”
“Ed carries himself in a manner that you know he’s good at what he does, not cocky, just confident,” he said. “The quietness comes in because Ed never brags on himself and is eager to talk about the positive attributes and accomplishments of others.”
Solomon has been hired by the Asheville Police Department (APD). Just days away from being sworn in as a police officer, he said, he’s finally starting to feel excited about his new career.“You wonder what it would be like to be an officer,” he reflects. “As it gets closer, having your shield, you think this is real, this is what it’s like to be one of those officers with a badge. Now you can see yourself there.”
With school behind him, Solomon is looking forward to seeing his son pass his state exam at the end of June. Hunter has also been hired by APD and will complete A-B Tech's BLET training as his father did.
Ultimately, Solomon would like to work as a school resource officer in a high school like his role model did.
He said, “Being around young adults for so long has given me the experience of how to be a person of authority but still respect them and hear them so they don’t have to look at law enforcement as something above them.”