Joe Thrasher
Joe was born in Long Beach, CA in 1956. He was the youngest of three boys. His family lived in Lakewood at the time. They moved to Westminster in 1957 and to Anaheim in 1961. Joe attended school in Anaheim and graduated from Loara High School in 74. Joe played football in high school but three knee surgeries ended any football dreams. During & after high school, Joe worked at Disneyland and Angel Stadium. His oldest brother was a police officer and Joe always planned on becoming a police officer.
In 1977, he joined the Anaheim PD and worked as a police cadet while attended Fullerton Community College. He got his AA degree in Police Science in 1978. He then attended Cal State Fullerton and got his BA degree in 1981. Joe got his degree in Criminal Justice.
One day in 1979, Joe was at the beach and drove by NB city hall. He stopped in and got an application for Police Officer. He recalls Jim Spears, Jim Carson, and Mike McEveny being on his interview board. Joe was hired and sent to the LA Sheriffs Academy in Nov 1979. Some of Joe’s classmates were J. Klein, P. Wilson, J. Hudson, J Knotek and S. Stringola. The class was 18 weeks. (John Hudson was the Honor Cadet).
Joe’s primary training officer was John Furrow and some of his training officers were R. Parker, Al Dollar, R. Truesdell, and A. Gonis.
One of his first memories was a 925 call at the Lido Village marina. Someone called and said they had been talking to guy on a dock and had lost contact with him. John and Joe went to the dock and found a phone off the hook and no one around. During the investigation, the tide went out and the victim was found in the water. The victim was only 20 and the cause of death was unknown. The incident taught Joe that no call is routine.
Joe started out in Patrol and in 81 he was assigned the foot beat on Balboa Island. He made lots of contacts while he was working there and still has friends that he met while working the Island.
He worked A. I. from 82 to 84. He stayed in traffic and worked as the TEO officer from 84 to 86. Lt Peterson, Sgts M. Jackson and M. McDonough were his supervisors. Joe went back to Patrol in 1986. In October that year, Joe had a major accident when he crashed into a drunk driver at 9th and W. Balboa. The passenger in the other car was killed and Joe received severe facial injuries. Joe had his wife Teri were engaged at the time of the accident. They went through with the wedding two weeks later. They did have to change their honeymoon plans and Joe still owes Teri a trip to Cancun. He was off for 2 months due to his injuries. Joe knew both the DUI driver and the deceased as they (along with M. McDonough) had coached a youth football team together the year before. It really is a small world.
In Oct 1987, Joe was assigned to Auto Theft. He remembers going to lunch one day with R. Thomson. They were on their way back to the station when a call came out about a bank robbery just occurred on Dover Drive. A description of a white Audi without plates came out. Joe and Rick checked the parking structure at Oakwood and located a car that fit the description. They went out on foot and found a guy in a laundry room changing clothes behind the washing machines. As soon as the guy saw them he told them, “I’m the guy you are looking for, I robbed the bank”. He cleared 6 robberies.
In December 1990, two weeks before Joe was due to rotate back to Patrol, he initiated an investigation based upon a 925 noises complaint that resulted in a weeklong stakeout and the dismantling of an international Porsche theft ring.
Joe was back in Patrol as an FTO from 1991 to 1993. Joe was selected as the NBPD Officer of the Year for 1992.
In July 93, Joe was assigned to OCATT, a countywide vehicle theft task force based in Anaheim. While in OCATT, Joe was the case agent of an investigation that resulted in the recovery of over 200 stolen vehicles and the arrests of 40 suspects.
In 97 it was back to Patrol as a FTO, Reserve Coordinator and Tactical Flight Officer. In January 2002, Joe was promoted to Sgt. and was a supervisor for the Bike Unit and the FTO & Reserve programs.
In 2003, Joe went back to OCATT as a supervisor and stayed there until he retired in 2009. Joe’s NBPD personnel at OCATT included Jay Rocker, Kent Eischen, & Kirk Jacobi.
He played on the department softball team from 1981 to 2001. In 2000, Joe was playing in a police tournament in Palm Springs. An errant throw hit Joe in the side of his face fracturing his jaw. Joe’s mouth had to be wired shut for 6 weeks. He said there nothing better than eating chicken from a blender. His most exciting softball moments included winning the Lake Tahoe Tournament with a dramatic last inning comeback and whenever they beat LAPD.
Joe has two older brothers. His oldest brother (Pat) retired in 2008 as a Captain with the Garden Grove Police Department. His other brother (Rob) is a family counselor.
Joe & Teri celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary this past October. They have three children. Denae (21) is a student at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu. She is studying Social Science. Devon (19) is a student at Fresno State University. She is a Communications major. Joey (16) is a 10th grader at Laguna Hills High School and enjoys playing football. Joe & Teri have lived in Laguna Hills for the past 20 years and enjoy its small town atmosphere.
With two children in college and one still in high school, Joe plans on getting back into the workforce after taking some time off.
While Joe loved the job, it was the camaraderie with his coworkers he enjoyed the most. Whether it was breakfast at the Snug after Morning Watch, detective lunches at the Sizzler or Joe Jost, a cocktail at the Arches after Swing Shift, or a softball tournament in Las Vegas. To Joe, it was spending time with the people he worked with that meant the most to him.
Interviewed by Stan Bressler