If you were to ask a Central Michigan University student who the friendliest police officer is on campus, most students will share the same response: "We love Officer Martinez."

Officer Laura Martinez, of CMUPD, has been a university police officer for almost 11 years. During her decade here, she's become one of the most beloved police officers on campus.

Although some students may come to CMU with a negative perception against law enforcement, Martinez, 48, shows students a more personal side of policing, breaking down the walls of distrust.

Aside from being the community police officer for the East Campus residential halls, she's also well-known for being a Zumba instructor, offering students free classes on campus that have been attended by as many as 250 students at a time.

She's also a student herself, working towards a bachelor's degree in sociology with a concentration in criminal justice.

Martinez spoke with Central Michigan Life on Oct. 21 to share why she used to hate law enforcement, and how she ended being one of the most beloved police officers at CMU.

CM Life: Before you became a police officer, what was your perception of police?

Martinez: I hated them. I couldn’t stand them. Didn’t want anything to do with them. I never had a positive interaction with law enforcement growing up. The first time I was in handcuffs was age 5. Every traffic stop for me was like a 45-minute traffic stop. My license was suspended from age 17-24 because I couldn’t pay a parking ticket.

In my mind, they were always harassing me because they had nothing better to do than look out for people like me.

How do you use that past perception as a police officer today?

I’m very honest with students. I tell them, “I know you hate the police, I did too. But I’m not that officer. I’m not the one who did you wrong, I’m Officer Martinez. Give me the opportunity to do something good.”

I had one particular student-athlete that wanted nothing to do with me. So I thanked him up and down for his athletic abilities, tried to relate to him. Eventually, he came to trust me because I acted like a human being. Now he stops by my officer every time he's in the residential halls to give me a hug. Once they see us as human beings, it’s easier for them to acknowledge us as such.

As one of two female police officers and the only minority police officer in CMUPD, how do you treat your job differently than a white, male police officer would?

I think about the experience of my home life. If you look at most Caucasian officers and ask them why they became a police officer, nine times out of 10 they’ll say, “Because I want to help people.” You ask a police officer of color, they’ll say, “I didn’t become a police officer to help people. I became one because I wanted to cure the injustices that happened to me growing up.” That’s how we’re different.

I was talking to one of the police officers and he made a comment: “You know that’s a drug house if they have blankets on the windows.” And I go, “Really?” And he goes, "Yeah, most houses that I go to that had blankets on the windows were drug houses.”

I replied, “Let me tell you something. Growing up, my mom was a single mom of six and I was the youngest. We had blankets on our walls because that’s all we could afford. We weren’t a drug house.” And he just kind of looked at me like a lightbulb popped on and told me he had never thought about that. And I said, “Don’t put us all in the same category. That’s what you’re doing.”

Why do you think you are so trusted by students?

I think it’s because I’m genuine and I’m honest. I build rapport with them. Because I treat them with love and respect, that’s how I’ve been blessed to have them love me back.

I give them out my personal cell phone number so they can get ahold of me when I’m not in the office. Most police officers won’t give you their cell phone number, I have no qualms with it. Just call me if you need me and if I can help you out, I will.

Always being upfront and honest with students, even if it’s not necessarily what they want to hear. I tell them, “Hey, this is the way it is. You may not like it, but this is why we do it.” Some people accept the answer if you explain things to them.

How would you define what your role is as a community police officer, and how is it different than a traditional police officer?

As a community police officer, your main job is to have a relationship with the community. Every police officer has a different personality, so every one of those relationships is different for every single officer. We all have different personalities, different strengths, and different weaknesses.

When I started, I was the only female police officer, and as a mother of six, I can go in there and kind of act like a mom. I learned to treat students how I would want my children to be interacted with.

I also started doing Zumba instructing in uniform, and that immediately broke the ice for people. Because that’s not the normality for police officers.

What role have you played in assisting with CMUPD's reconfiguration of the community policing policy this year?

I’ve been giving tips and pointers in terms of communicating with students. Most of our officers are very straight and narrow, so I’ve been telling them to think about how they would treat their own family; if they were your child, how would you want your young adult to be treated? Talk to them in that fashion. You don’t need to be a police officer 24/7 until it calls for that, and then you can turn that switch on and focus on the enforcement stuff.

Q&A: Officer Martinez offers students a friendlier face to university policing

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