Half-an-hour after graduating from high school I went into the supermarket in my hometown to buy a can of pop as my way of celebrating.
I was alone for the moment when I encountered Sheriff Bill Joy on my way out the door.
He greeted me, smiled warmly, and then caught me off-guard.
"You're under arrest!"
My mind raced trying to think what I might have done illegally that got me into trouble. The Sheriff's son, Ryan, a sophomore, had become good friends with me over the course of that year when his mother inquired if he could accompany one of my classmates and I on something of a hunting excursion.
I remembered my surprise when my best friend Paul said, "We got to take Ryan Joy with us," explaining Ryan's mom talked to Paul's mom saying he didn't have many friends among his class and she wondered if we, upperclassmen, would befriend Ryan and sort of take him under our wing.
A friendship was born and Ryan began hanging out with Paul and I, along with our classmate Jacob and Jeff, a junior.
Ryan was quick of wit and as eager to experience having a good time as we were. His dad and my dad were friends and there were times when we would both lean on each other just to get through our teen years sometimes complicated by our own choices. We fed off each other testing the waters, but we always had each other's back, so when Ryan's dad told me I was under arrest, I couldn't believe it.
I didn't have to for long.
"Just kidding," Sheriff Bill Joy said, then added, "Good speech," and shook my hand.
"You should write my campaign speech for me," he grinned.
Upon delivering my graduation address I had just received a standing ovation, orchestrated by two of my football teammates, Wayne, one of our linebackers; and Brad, our defensive tackle; who operated in a jock clique I sometimes crossed over into.
That surprised me.
Sheriff Bill Joy had been there. His daughter, Denise, was one of our graduating class. She has followed her dad into public service and now serves as a city council member for Billings, the largest city in Montana. Back then, in my small hometown with Hardin High School having 500 students, grades 9-12, people often find themselves connected in diverse manners. Not only did we share these connections, but Sheriff Bill Joy was also a friend of my dad.
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Three decades later - I feel stunned as my mom tells me over the phone that Sheriff Bill Joy, long out of a law enforcement career spanning 25 years, has been brutually murdered during a carjacking on June 10. He would have turned 82 on July 3.
Apparently his name, as a victim, wasn't made public until several days after his death. One of the things that comes to mind is remembering my father's funeral and looking out seeing Ryan pass by the casket to pay his respects.
That meant something to me, and Ryan's dad meant something to me. He was buried before I learned of his passing.
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Sheriff Bill Joy's compliment that a teenager could write a campaign speech for him as a citizen seeking office was one of the highest honors a young writer can get. If I attempted that speech now, I don't think I could truly recreate my teenage mindset. My world view has changed and expanded with knowledge acquired over the years.
One thing I know for certain is Sheriff Bill Joy exemplified the role of the good guy. He wasn't perfect, but he knew how to administer grace to mitigate hardness that could have very easily set in, especially among an Indian Reservation where the people hold a general distrust in their perspective of law enforcement. The public isn't always understanding towards those who wear a badge, yet Sheriff Bill Joy knew how to discreetly diffuse that in a person.
No matter what scandals plaque law enforcement, real or imagined, and looking back at my teenage self and my clique, for all of our teenage tendencies to question authority; we knew there had to be good cops in the world because of Sheriff Bill Joy.
MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER. HE IS A FORMER ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT AND PUBLIC POLICY ADVISOR TO THE BIG HORN COUNTY COMMISSION OF HIS HOME COUNTY OF BIG HORN COUNTY, MONT. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE HIS OWN.
Sports on 06/20/2018