Bill gatewood's olympic moment
Police work, says Sgt. Bill Gatewood, is 95 percent routine and 5 percent adrenaline rush. Doesn't matter to him. The 1975 Collegiate graduate, a member of the Ashland Police Department for almost 20 years, loves the lifestyle. In fact, he loves it so much that in February, he used 26 vacation days to work security at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Gatewood was one of 625 police officers from outside Utah selected from 2,000-plus applicants to assume the much-needed and potentially high-risk responsibility. "But you understand the dangers," he says. "You can't go to work being paranoid, but you have to exhibit a certain amount of care and caution."
Gatewood's passion for police work began when he was in middle school, and talking to him, you get the feeling that he doesn't view his profession as work or his adventure in Utah above and beyond the call of duty.
"The Olympics was such an awesome event," he said. "It was a great experience working with people from around the country and around the world. There's a sense of awe that you can contribute to an international event."
While in Salt Lake City, Gatewood handled security around the Little America Hotel, an 850-room high-rise. Renamed the Olympic Family Hotel for the occasion, it housed the International Olympic Committee as well as all members of Olympic committees from the 79 participating nations. It also provided a vulnerable target for someone bent on making a statement.
The property, surrounded by a Jersey wall and two layers of 8-foothigh chain-link fencing, had three entry points, and Gatewood was a support person and problem solver for the civilian volunteers who checked and verified credentials. There were plenty of credentials to check but, thanks to scrupulous planning and a constant state of alert, very few problems to solve.
"The strategy was overkill with security," said Gatewood, who usually worked the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift. "Where I was, we only had one incident. A drunk on a bicycle crashed the gate and got past two posts before the security force tackled him. The Olympics really went off without a hitch."
Gatewood's first real taste of his vocation came 27 years ago when he was assigned to the City of Richmond police department during senior work week. He thought he'd landed in heaven. In the ensuing years, he worked summer security at King's Dominion and pulled stints with the Wintergreen Police Department and in the Hanover County sheriff's office. He signed on in Ashland in 1982 and over the years has ably handled a multitude of assignments. Recently he's overseen the day-to-day street operations and trained, supervised, and mentored officers new to the force.
"When you live in the community where you work," he said, "you develop a vested interest because you're protecting the environment where you raise your kids."
Bill and Cindy, his wife of 24 years, have two sons, Bill Jr., 17, a junior at Patrick Henry High School, and Chris, a 15-year-old freshman.
Six years ago, they supported him as he lent a hand at the Atlanta Olympics where he supervised civilian security volunteers at the Georgia Dome, the basketball and gymnastics venue. This time, they backed him as he ventured west. Hours were long, living conditions were, shall we say, spartan, a~d many officers imply cashed in their chips and headed home.
When the Games ended and the flame was extinguished, the spirit that took Gatewood 2,500 miles from home continued to burn and remains vivid in his consciousness even now.
"I've stayed in police work because I enjoy helping people," he said.
"What made me feel so good about being at the Olympics was, when you look back to September 11, how supportive everyone was of the security measures and how many people walked over and thanked us for just doing our jobs. Looking back, it was a priceless experience.”
