October's Officer of
the Month Mark Sain "PEEPAW"
ALWAYS ON THE MOVE
By
Jon Mayhew
Officer
Mark Sain (left) and Officer Richard
Taylor look over information on a case. Photo
by Jon Mayhew/TCS
LINCOLNTON
-- He's known to his fellow
officers as "Peepaw." And at
first glance, one would think 51-year-old
Mark Sain has been a police officer for
many years.
Guess
again.
The
former electrical supervisor for the City
of Lincolnton has actually been on the
beat since February of this year. And
while the October Fatz Cafe/The Carolina
Scoop Lincolnton Police Officer of the
Month has only been an officer for the
past 10 months, he doesn't miss a beat
while on patrol.
Just ask
the guy he arrested a few weeks ago for
possessing liquid morphine.
"I
saw him originally pull out with a tail
light out," said Sain. 'That's the
original reason why I stopped him."
Mark
originally wanted to be a police officer,
but after taking a criminal justice
course after graduating Lincolnton High
School in 1976, he "let it go."
Video of Mark Sain's
award presentation at the Lincolnton
Police Department
Among
Sain's jobs before settling on his
passion of law enforcement, he was a
tow-truck driver and a paramedic, both in
Lincoln County.
Part of
him, though, always had a desire to be a
cop.
Lincolnton
police Lt. Kenny Shrum has been a
longtime friend of Sain. Shrum said the
pair went to Lincolnton High together and
graduated a year apart from one another.
One day,
according to Shrum, Mark started coming
over to the PD for ride-alongs.
"That's
how he got interested in police
work," said Shrum. "He'd do
police work 24/7 if he could."
Sain
came to Shrum's shift in July or August
2008 and has added a lot of excitement to
many nights in Lincolnton.
When he's not
on patrol, officer Mark Sain is finishing
up paperwork. Photo by
Jon Mayhew/TCS
"His
curiousity plays into his work here at
the police department," said Shrum.
"He likes to get into a lot of
stuff. He's a good officer who uses good
judgement."
Sain
chuckles at the mention of being the
oldest rookie on the force and the second
oldest police officer in the city.
And he
credits two fellow officers for giving
him the nickname "Peepaw."
"(Officers)
Richard Taylor and Brandon Hunsucker
started calling me that and it
stuck," said Sain. "It comes
with being one of the oldest officers
here."
Supporting
Sain is his wife, Cindy, also a Lincoln
County native. They've been married for
17 years.
ON
DUTY WITH OFFICER MARK SAIN Here is a
sampling of the calls Mark Sain
recently ran within the City of
Lincolnton.
8pm --
Sain finds a vehicle out of
Hickory parked near the old
bowling alley and Lincoln Family
Practice. He runs the tag and
discovers an insurance stop
issued by the State of North
Carolina. He retreives the plate
and leaves a note for the driver.
8:31pm --
Sain is traveling Wilma Sigmon
Road near Wal-Mart when a vehicle
pulls out in front of him,
causing Sain to stop quickly. He
initiates a traffic stop and
gives the driver a warning to be
careful. The driver tells Said he
didn't see him coming down the
road.
Around
9:30pm, after trying to serve an
arrest warrant on Circle Drive,
Sain receives a tip that a wanted
female subject is near the Days
Inn and may be headed south. Sain
is unable to locate the vehicle
at this time.
9;52pm --
Sain is traveling North Aspen St.
when he sees a white van fail to
stop for the stop sign near
Lincolnton High School. He pulls
the van over at the Kingsway
Exxon at Flint and North Aspen
Streets and issues the
17-year-old driver a citation.
Sain saw the same van earlier
parked in the parking lot at
Betty Ross Park.
12:05am
-- Sain responds to the parking
lot of Lincolnton Police
Department with fellow officer
Richard Taylor, Lincoln County
Sheriff's Department Sgt. Will
Pitts and North Carolina Highway
Patrol trooper J.M. Futrell in
reference to a domestic dispute
that started in Cornelius. After
conducting an investigation with
Taylor, one person is taken into
custody.
"She's been very supportive
of me," said Sain, "when I told
her I wanted to go into law
enforcement."
Cindy
Sain said she told him at the time if
that's what he wanted to do, then go for
it.
"I
know he wanted to be in law enforcement
for years," said the former Cindy
Bondurant. "In taking his BLET
(Basic Law Enforcement Training), Mark's
determination came through. He worked
hard, even while having a full-time
job."
Officer
Sain has some simple advice for people
who want to go into law enforcement and
it's something he applies at each and
every incident he investigates.
Treat
people with respect.
"Have
patience with people and treat them the
way you want to be treated," said
Sain. "Remember that even though
most people make mistakes, have patience
with them."
