
By Ryan Moriarty
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Scott Bockstie has many identities. He protects the people of Baltimore County as a police officer. He roams the sidelines as a youth coach. And, he walks through his Perry Hall home as a husband and father.
For Bockstie, who sports a close-cropped hair cut to complement his muscular, 6-foot, 200-pound frame, all these pieces combine to make his whole identity.
At the Baltimore County Police Department, Bockstie covers the permanent night shift and patrols Towson’s downtown area. As an experienced officer with the backing of the law, Bockstie’s authoritative voice belies his kind and patient demeanor.
Being a police officer is a dream Bockstie said he’s had since he was a kid. He even recalls writing a paper when he was in the seventh grade, stating that he wanted to be in law enforcement. For him, it was about breaking the cycle of everyday life, not about the perceived excitement often promoted in TV shows and the movies.
“My family grew up [as] the office worker, Monday through Friday, nine to five,” Bockstie said. “It was the mold of what everyone was doing.”
But now, after 23 years on the job, it isn’t the excitement of the calls that Bockstie said he loves best; it’s the people he works with every day. His role is that of “the senior guy,” which allows him to build relationships with the younger members of the force. He said he also was able to see how his input as a police officer helped a younger generation through to a more successful life.
But the job isn’t perfect. Recently, Bockstie said “a few bad apples” created a challenge for his position. Bockstie said he is not blind to the tension between communities and police officers. He acknowledged that the actions of a few may not be positive but warned against painting others with a broad stroke.
As an officer, Bockstie said he goes into every interaction with the idea that his badge does not grant him power or respect. He said he learned from a senior officer on his second day on the job, that respect must be given in order to be received. Every situation is an opportunity to build a positive relationship with the community.
“You try to change one person’s perspective and hope it floods through word of mouth,” Bockstie said.
When he clocks out at the Police Department, Bockstie said he switches from Officer Bockstie to simply Scott. When he walks through the doors of his home, he is a husband and father first. He said he separates his professional life from his home life so that he can maintain them both.
Scott and his wife of 18 years, Mindy, have three children.
“I never bring it home,” Bockstie said about job concerns or issues. “I change at the station and my uniform comes off and it stays in the locker. I don’t do too much police wise at the home front.”
When home, he said his children and their sports take top priority. But Bockstie admitted that there is an inevitable collision of worlds. When his children have questions, he said he never turns them or the questions away.
“My wife and I are incredibly, brutally, honest with the kids in terms of real-world situations,” said Bockstie. “They go by the notion that telling them the truth, they won’t shun away from real world headlines.”
Mindy, who works as a Registered Nurse for Kaiser Permanente, noted she has been around police officers her entire life. Her father just retired from the police force five years ago, and her brother and sister also are officers for Baltimore County. So Mindy not only is able to answer questions asked by their children, but said she also fully appreciates her husband’s dedication to the family.
“He will go without sleep before he misses any of the kids’ activities,” Mindy said. “The kids understand he needs to sleep; however he just wants to be there for everything. He is a hard worker and the kids truly appreciate all he does for them and us as a family.”
Melissa Pritchard, a family friend, vouched for Bockstie’s devotion to his family.
“I think his family is everything to him,” said Pritchard. “Juggling a career, a wife and three kids is tough. But they make it work. He separates what needs to be.”