Beyond Blue, Beyond Badge

By Cheryl Machat Dorskind

Violent crime is on the rise and as I traveled with the Community Response Unit (CRU), looking for the “bad guys,” I wondered how the police coped with fear and the intensity of the unknown.

I was eager to create portraits beyond an officer in blue. I wanted to know more. I was curious about how they relaxed, regrouped and prepared for another day on the front line.

To learn more, I realized I'd have to disarm my camera. A portrait is a collaborative effort; instead of pointing my camera and shooting, I rode in the CRU member's cars and listened. If trust and friendship developed, I was confident the portrait beneath the uniform would eventually emerge.

Here is what I discovered. Sergeant Hughes is passionate about his work and paternally proud of his unit. Modest about his own accomplishments (including, Commanding Officer of CRU: Community Response Unit; Executive Officer of ESU; Emergency Service Unit; Commanding Officer of the Dive Team; Firearms Instructor; Defensive Tactics Instructor; Chemical Agent Instructor, and graduate of the FBI National Academy) he encouraged me to turn my camera's focus onto the other CRU members. Officer Lyle Smith is an award winning woodcarver; duck decoys are his passion. The craft has been in his family for generations. Officer Harrigan's professional and personal worlds intersect because her daughter, Christina, is also a Southampton Town Police Officer. Mike Scott plays the bag pipes—you've probably seen him during a Saint Patrick's Day Parade— and is beginning to teach his son. Rich Gates, an avid bow hunter, competes in state competitions and loves nature. Lewis Scott spends his free time working with professional and community service groups, including the Hampton Bays Fire Department, the Hampton Bays Ambulance, the Emergency Service Unit and the Dive and Rescue Unit.

Cheryl Machat Dorskind Officer Mike Smith ISO 400, f/13 @ 1/45 Canon 70-200mm, +5