Photo By Wyatt Anthony | Columbia VA Health Care System Criminal Investigator Chavis Jefferson poses during a...... read more read more
COLUMBIA, South Carolina – Life events, both positive and negative, can sometimes affect the path a person follows. One such event led a U.S. Air Force communications noncommissioned officer to become a VA police officer.
Chavis ‘Jeff’ Jefferson, a criminal investigator at the Columbia VA Health Care System (CVAHCS), had been in the Air Force for eight years when personal tragedy hit. His sister, living in Jacksonville, Florida, was missing.
“I went home for a week or so, helping my family look for her and putting up signs in the area,” said Jefferson. He returned to his duty station and a week later, his mother called and said he needed to come home. “She wouldn’t tell me why, but I knew,” he added.
A Jacksonville police detective met them and explained what happened concerning the abduction and murder of his sister. The detective had a lot of empathy for the family on their loss.
“That changed my outlook on a lot of things,” said Jefferson. “I didn’t think I wanted to spend 20 years in the Air Force. I wanted to be around family, I wanted to appreciate my family while I could.” And it made him want to go into law enforcement.
His father had been a police officer in the Washington, D.C, suburb where he grew up. Jefferson wanted to follow his father’s career path, but most law enforcement agencies wanted a college degree. “I always had that bug to go into law enforcement, I just didn’t have the opportunity to do so,” he said.
After leaving the Air Force, he went to work as a corrections intake officer with the Jacksonville Police Department for four years. A position as a police dispatcher came open at CVAHCS. He applied and was accepted. His wife is from South Carolina, so it was an easy decision to move to the Columbia area. He had worked as a dispatcher for approximately 18 months when a patrol officer position came open. He worked as a patrol officer for two to three years and then became a patrol sergeant.
“Jefferson is one of the hardest working employees within the VA Police Service,” said CVAHCS Chief of Police Mike Schausten. “His work ethic, standard of appearance, professionalism and dedication sets the standard for a well-rounded employee. He rose quickly into a sergeant position and took many officers under his wing and mentored them in many areas to help them succeed and grow.”
Jefferson also had a lot of praise for Schausten. “Under Chief Schausten’ s leadership, I had the opportunity to complete my Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice in September 2022.”
After five years as a patrol officer, Jefferson moved into a criminal investigator position at CVAHCS. Then the opportunity to attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) in Glencoe, Georgia came up.
“Rumors were floating around about being able to attend CITP,” said Jefferson. His supervisor, Mark Webb, had attended the old course at the VA academy. “It’ll be a great opportunity for you to get this training and see a different side of law enforcement,” Webb told Jefferson.
The CITP is a 12-week skilled training course that trains officers in an array of advanced academic and physical classes. To attend CITP, an officer will have to be nominated by his/her department chief, and then selected by the training center. Jefferson is the first member from the CVAHCS and is among a handful of Department of Veterans Affairs officers to attend this training, and graduate.
“Only about 20-30 % of the investigators across the VA have gone to the CITP, with the goal to be 100%,” said Jefferson. His roommate was a VA criminal investigator from Columbus, Ohio. “Approximately 50% of the course were Border Patrol, with several other federal agencies like the Secret Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Commerce,” he added. “It was an eclectic group.”
“CI Jefferson sets the standard of professionalism and work ethic. He is the future in VA law enforcement,” said Schausten when asked why he nominated Jefferson for the CITP. “His compassion to help people makes him stand out and makes people feel at ease when approaching him and needing assistance,”
“As bad of a shape I was in when I found out about my sister, I always remember how compassionate that detective was. It opened up my mind set in that direction.”
There is a saying we all are familiar with, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Columbia VA Health Care System Police Criminal Investigator Chavis Jefferson‘s personal tragedy introduced him to a compassionate, empathetic detective that set him on a new course in life, to a new glass of lemonade.
| Date Taken: | 05.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.17.2024 10:26 |
| Story ID: | 471550 |
| Location: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 32 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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