WATSONVILLE — Nearly 28 years ago, Jess Ojeda was fresh from a stint in the U.S. Army, where he served as a paratrooper.
Ojeda, 52, said his drive to help his community inspired him to sign up with Watsonville Police Department.
But that wasn’t the only reason he sought a career as a police officer.
“It was the challenge and excitement of the job,” Ojeda said.
He retires at the end of December after a 28-year career.
As he rose through the ranks – he leaves as a Master Officer – he worked in the patrol division, as a detective and a field-training officer.
Most recently, he said he enjoyed working on WPD’s Special Response Team, a tactical group similar to SWAT.
Born in San Jose, Ojeda grew up in Gilroy.
He said he started before police cruisers carried the computers that immediately bring data to their fingertips, and before officers carried Tasers.
What has not changed, he said, is the camaraderie he found at WPD.
“It’s been quite a ride, quite an adventure,” he said. “I’m going to truly miss a lot of people I work with.”
Ojeda said he has known WPD Capt. Jorge Zamora since Zamora was a Watsonville police cadet.
“It’s been neat to see him become an officer and rise through the ranks,” Ojeda said.
Any officer on the force for nearly three decades will have a veritable book full of stories.
When pressed, Ojeda remembered the numerous bars that once populated the downtown area, causing no small headaches for police officers.
“Those were the training grounds,” Ojeda said.
One night, his sergeant Manny Solano told Ojeda to do a late-night check of the area.
When he found two men fighting in the middle of the road, Ojeda got out of his vehicle to try to get the crowd to disperse.
One man refused, however, and instead kept beating his opponent.
“I ended up going hands-on with the guy, and the fight was on between he and I,” he said. “He almost got my gun.”
Ojeda also remembers being one of the officers in charge when a mentally ill 22-year-old man walked into the Big 5 Sporting Goods Store on Green Valley Road, cut the lock on a rifle, loaded it and fired a shot in the air.
The responding officers shot Robin Miranda when he refused to surrender.
Sgt. Henry Robles said he has worked with Ojeda for 28 years, and called him “an easy-going level-headed guy.”
“He has been a great officer and he is now a very experienced officer,” Robles said. “He was an excellent officer and I think everyone here appreciated his work. It’s a blessing that he is getting out of this job healthy.”
In his retirement, Ojeda said he plans to continue teaching physical training and firearms courses at the South Bay Regional Training Consortium in San Jose, the local police academy.
“It’s really fulfilling seeing the fresh faces come in,” he said. “They are excited about their career choice. I just like to pass on that knowledge.”
He will also spend time with his family. He has a son, 18, and a daughter, 16. He started dating his wife a month before he started with WPD.
“I have to give credit to my family for keeping me grounded,” he said.
Ojeda said he wants to get out ahead of the physical ailments that affect many retiring officers after years on the physically demanding job.
“I’m getting older, and the crooks are getting younger,” he said. “It takes me a lot longer these days to heal from injuries.”
When asked his advice for young people considering a law enforcement career, Ojeda said that family should always come first. Police work, he added, is not merely a job.
“It’s a lifestyle,” he said. “Because it’s going to take over your life. But also remember that family is number one.”
