Sergeant Roger Lynn Sweatt was a longtime Big Spring, Texas police officer, having served from 1979 to 2008 in all divisions of the department.
Roger was born on July 15, 1957 in Colorado City, Mitchell County, Texas to Roy Edwin Sweatt and Dora Nell Tedford.
He was the brother of Sandra May Sweatt Chambers and Charles Leon Sweatt.
He graduated from Colorado City High School and the Western Texas College in Snyder in Criminal Justice. He grew up in Colorado City, moving to Big Spring in 1979.
Roger was married to Jonetta M. Dunn. They were married on October 20, 1984, in Big Spring, Howard County, Texas.
He died on Sunday, April 20, 2008 in Big Spring, Texas. He was 50 years old.
The flowing article was written by Thomas Jenkins and appeared in the Big Spring Herald on April 25, 2008.
HE WAS ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS
When I first started in the journalism business, I was truly a step beyond green. I didn't know anyone in Big Spring, having just moved here from the East Coast, and I was struggling to learn the Associated Press style of writing.
Needless to say, being handed the city and county government beat at the Big Spring Herald was daunting, almost overwhelming.
And having grown up in South Carolina, my feelings toward law enforcement were a bit jaded. Where I'm from, law enforcement officials were all business and friendliness didn't rank high among their list of qualities.
And, with that in mind, I headed down to the Big Spring Police Department to do my first - and I feared at the time, my last - interview with a law enforcement official. I was somewhat nervous, and I fully expected the same cold-shoulder, "no comment" treatment I would have received back in my home state.
Lucky for me, that interview was with Sgt. Roger Sweatt, the public information officer with the BSPD.
Roger's office was squeezed into the back of the criminal investigations division, resembling a cubbyhole with a desk and phone.
Roger's smile was disarming, instantly putting me at ease. His somewhat slow and deliberate speech during the interview, which some might have taken for condescending, was a Godsend for a new reporter struggling to develop a makeshift shorthand and get all the details straight.
Knowing very, very little about law enforcement - ranging from the investigators' process to the case's trip through the court system - I had plenty of questions that would leave even a layman feeling like a law enforcement trivia king, but Roger happily answered them all, elaborating where it was needed.
I left the police department that day with a renewed hope I could be a successful journalist in Big Spring, and I owe that to Roger.
During the following years, as I progressed as a writer and spent more than four years as a television news anchor, I got to know Roger even more, and that same scene played out time after time, with him helping me along with a smile and sharp wit.
Many times, with a particularly disturbing crime before us, it was hard for either of us to do little more than stare and shake our heads. And other times, when the crimes took a more humorous and odd direction, we laughed together.
It takes a very strange sense of humor to be a journalist or law enforcement officer, just in case you're wondering.
Eventually, Roger moved into a new position at the BSPD, but thanks to his involvement in Crimestoppers, we were able to keep in touch over the last few years. After a
decade covering Big Spring and Howard County, I regarded him more as a colleague than a contact, a friend I could call on when I had a question I thought was silly.
After years of health problems, Roger passed away this week.
And while his passing saddens me beyond words, I can still smile because I know the world - myself included - is better off having known him.
In the course of his career at the BSPD, Roger touched countless lives, many at a time when they were ready to cave in and call it quits. His kind words and encouragement - whether to a victim of a crime or a youth trying to escape lawless ways - will serve as a beacon to scores of rookie police officers looking to carve out a name for themselves in the Crossroads area.
A veteran of the BSPD more that 28 years, Roger set the bar pretty high.
And he will be remembered - at least by this journalist - as one of the good guys.
Roger was born on July 15, 1957 in Colorado City, Mitchell County, Texas to Roy Edwin Sweatt and Dora Nell Tedford.
He was the brother of Sandra May Sweatt Chambers and Charles Leon Sweatt.
He graduated from Colorado City High School and the Western Texas College in Snyder in Criminal Justice. He grew up in Colorado City, moving to Big Spring in 1979.
Roger was married to Jonetta M. Dunn. They were married on October 20, 1984, in Big Spring, Howard County, Texas.
He died on Sunday, April 20, 2008 in Big Spring, Texas. He was 50 years old.
The flowing article was written by Thomas Jenkins and appeared in the Big Spring Herald on April 25, 2008.
HE WAS ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS
When I first started in the journalism business, I was truly a step beyond green. I didn't know anyone in Big Spring, having just moved here from the East Coast, and I was struggling to learn the Associated Press style of writing.
Needless to say, being handed the city and county government beat at the Big Spring Herald was daunting, almost overwhelming.
And having grown up in South Carolina, my feelings toward law enforcement were a bit jaded. Where I'm from, law enforcement officials were all business and friendliness didn't rank high among their list of qualities.
And, with that in mind, I headed down to the Big Spring Police Department to do my first - and I feared at the time, my last - interview with a law enforcement official. I was somewhat nervous, and I fully expected the same cold-shoulder, "no comment" treatment I would have received back in my home state.
Lucky for me, that interview was with Sgt. Roger Sweatt, the public information officer with the BSPD.
Roger's office was squeezed into the back of the criminal investigations division, resembling a cubbyhole with a desk and phone.
Roger's smile was disarming, instantly putting me at ease. His somewhat slow and deliberate speech during the interview, which some might have taken for condescending, was a Godsend for a new reporter struggling to develop a makeshift shorthand and get all the details straight.
Knowing very, very little about law enforcement - ranging from the investigators' process to the case's trip through the court system - I had plenty of questions that would leave even a layman feeling like a law enforcement trivia king, but Roger happily answered them all, elaborating where it was needed.
I left the police department that day with a renewed hope I could be a successful journalist in Big Spring, and I owe that to Roger.
During the following years, as I progressed as a writer and spent more than four years as a television news anchor, I got to know Roger even more, and that same scene played out time after time, with him helping me along with a smile and sharp wit.
Many times, with a particularly disturbing crime before us, it was hard for either of us to do little more than stare and shake our heads. And other times, when the crimes took a more humorous and odd direction, we laughed together.
It takes a very strange sense of humor to be a journalist or law enforcement officer, just in case you're wondering.
Eventually, Roger moved into a new position at the BSPD, but thanks to his involvement in Crimestoppers, we were able to keep in touch over the last few years. After a
decade covering Big Spring and Howard County, I regarded him more as a colleague than a contact, a friend I could call on when I had a question I thought was silly.
After years of health problems, Roger passed away this week.
And while his passing saddens me beyond words, I can still smile because I know the world - myself included - is better off having known him.
In the course of his career at the BSPD, Roger touched countless lives, many at a time when they were ready to cave in and call it quits. His kind words and encouragement - whether to a victim of a crime or a youth trying to escape lawless ways - will serve as a beacon to scores of rookie police officers looking to carve out a name for themselves in the Crossroads area.
A veteran of the BSPD more that 28 years, Roger set the bar pretty high.
And he will be remembered - at least by this journalist - as one of the good guys.
Sergeant Roger Lynn Sweatt was a longtime Big Spring, Texas police officer, having served from 1979 to 2008 in all divisions of the department.
Roger was born on July 15, 1957 in Colorado City, Mitchell County, Texas to Roy Edwin Sweatt and Dora Nell Tedford.
He was the brother of Sandra May Sweatt Chambers and Charles Leon Sweatt.
He graduated from Colorado City High School and the Western Texas College in Snyder in Criminal Justice. He grew up in Colorado City, moving to Big Spring in 1979.
Roger was married to Jonetta M. Dunn. They were married on October 20, 1984, in Big Spring, Howard County, Texas.
He died on Sunday, April 20, 2008 in Big Spring, Texas. He was 50 years old.
The flowing article was written by Thomas Jenkins and appeared in the Big Spring Herald on April 25, 2008.
HE WAS ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS
When I first started in the journalism business, I was truly a step beyond green. I didn't know anyone in Big Spring, having just moved here from the East Coast, and I was struggling to learn the Associated Press style of writing.
Needless to say, being handed the city and county government beat at the Big Spring Herald was daunting, almost overwhelming.
And having grown up in South Carolina, my feelings toward law enforcement were a bit jaded. Where I'm from, law enforcement officials were all business and friendliness didn't rank high among their list of qualities.
And, with that in mind, I headed down to the Big Spring Police Department to do my first - and I feared at the time, my last - interview with a law enforcement official. I was somewhat nervous, and I fully expected the same cold-shoulder, "no comment" treatment I would have received back in my home state.
Lucky for me, that interview was with Sgt. Roger Sweatt, the public information officer with the BSPD.
Roger's office was squeezed into the back of the criminal investigations division, resembling a cubbyhole with a desk and phone.
Roger's smile was disarming, instantly putting me at ease. His somewhat slow and deliberate speech during the interview, which some might have taken for condescending, was a Godsend for a new reporter struggling to develop a makeshift shorthand and get all the details straight.
Knowing very, very little about law enforcement - ranging from the investigators' process to the case's trip through the court system - I had plenty of questions that would leave even a layman feeling like a law enforcement trivia king, but Roger happily answered them all, elaborating where it was needed.
I left the police department that day with a renewed hope I could be a successful journalist in Big Spring, and I owe that to Roger.
During the following years, as I progressed as a writer and spent more than four years as a television news anchor, I got to know Roger even more, and that same scene played out time after time, with him helping me along with a smile and sharp wit.
Many times, with a particularly disturbing crime before us, it was hard for either of us to do little more than stare and shake our heads. And other times, when the crimes took a more humorous and odd direction, we laughed together.
It takes a very strange sense of humor to be a journalist or law enforcement officer, just in case you're wondering.
Eventually, Roger moved into a new position at the BSPD, but thanks to his involvement in Crimestoppers, we were able to keep in touch over the last few years. After a
decade covering Big Spring and Howard County, I regarded him more as a colleague than a contact, a friend I could call on when I had a question I thought was silly.
After years of health problems, Roger passed away this week.
And while his passing saddens me beyond words, I can still smile because I know the world - myself included - is better off having known him.
In the course of his career at the BSPD, Roger touched countless lives, many at a time when they were ready to cave in and call it quits. His kind words and encouragement - whether to a victim of a crime or a youth trying to escape lawless ways - will serve as a beacon to scores of rookie police officers looking to carve out a name for themselves in the Crossroads area.
A veteran of the BSPD more that 28 years, Roger set the bar pretty high.
And he will be remembered - at least by this journalist - as one of the good guys.
Roger was born on July 15, 1957 in Colorado City, Mitchell County, Texas to Roy Edwin Sweatt and Dora Nell Tedford.
He was the brother of Sandra May Sweatt Chambers and Charles Leon Sweatt.
He graduated from Colorado City High School and the Western Texas College in Snyder in Criminal Justice. He grew up in Colorado City, moving to Big Spring in 1979.
Roger was married to Jonetta M. Dunn. They were married on October 20, 1984, in Big Spring, Howard County, Texas.
He died on Sunday, April 20, 2008 in Big Spring, Texas. He was 50 years old.
The flowing article was written by Thomas Jenkins and appeared in the Big Spring Herald on April 25, 2008.
HE WAS ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS
When I first started in the journalism business, I was truly a step beyond green. I didn't know anyone in Big Spring, having just moved here from the East Coast, and I was struggling to learn the Associated Press style of writing.
Needless to say, being handed the city and county government beat at the Big Spring Herald was daunting, almost overwhelming.
And having grown up in South Carolina, my feelings toward law enforcement were a bit jaded. Where I'm from, law enforcement officials were all business and friendliness didn't rank high among their list of qualities.
And, with that in mind, I headed down to the Big Spring Police Department to do my first - and I feared at the time, my last - interview with a law enforcement official. I was somewhat nervous, and I fully expected the same cold-shoulder, "no comment" treatment I would have received back in my home state.
Lucky for me, that interview was with Sgt. Roger Sweatt, the public information officer with the BSPD.
Roger's office was squeezed into the back of the criminal investigations division, resembling a cubbyhole with a desk and phone.
Roger's smile was disarming, instantly putting me at ease. His somewhat slow and deliberate speech during the interview, which some might have taken for condescending, was a Godsend for a new reporter struggling to develop a makeshift shorthand and get all the details straight.
Knowing very, very little about law enforcement - ranging from the investigators' process to the case's trip through the court system - I had plenty of questions that would leave even a layman feeling like a law enforcement trivia king, but Roger happily answered them all, elaborating where it was needed.
I left the police department that day with a renewed hope I could be a successful journalist in Big Spring, and I owe that to Roger.
During the following years, as I progressed as a writer and spent more than four years as a television news anchor, I got to know Roger even more, and that same scene played out time after time, with him helping me along with a smile and sharp wit.
Many times, with a particularly disturbing crime before us, it was hard for either of us to do little more than stare and shake our heads. And other times, when the crimes took a more humorous and odd direction, we laughed together.
It takes a very strange sense of humor to be a journalist or law enforcement officer, just in case you're wondering.
Eventually, Roger moved into a new position at the BSPD, but thanks to his involvement in Crimestoppers, we were able to keep in touch over the last few years. After a
decade covering Big Spring and Howard County, I regarded him more as a colleague than a contact, a friend I could call on when I had a question I thought was silly.
After years of health problems, Roger passed away this week.
And while his passing saddens me beyond words, I can still smile because I know the world - myself included - is better off having known him.
In the course of his career at the BSPD, Roger touched countless lives, many at a time when they were ready to cave in and call it quits. His kind words and encouragement - whether to a victim of a crime or a youth trying to escape lawless ways - will serve as a beacon to scores of rookie police officers looking to carve out a name for themselves in the Crossroads area.
A veteran of the BSPD more that 28 years, Roger set the bar pretty high.
And he will be remembered - at least by this journalist - as one of the good guys.
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