The Good Life – May-June 2018

LOCAL HERO // JASON HICKS
Moorhead (MSUM) with a degree in criminal justice,
the veteran started his law enforcement career in
Dilworth as a part-time patrolman. But it wasn’t
long before he was hired at the West Fargo Police
Department, where he scored a position as narcotics
investigator after just a year in.
"That's something I had always wanted to do and it
was just wild. That was at the height of the big meth
push – when they were making meth and had meth
labs everywhere,” he said. “We could literally work 24
hours a day, seven days a week. There was always stuff
to do.”
From small, marijuana paraphernalia arrests to a
multi-pound methamphetamine busts, Hicks worked
an endless amount of cases.
"The thing with drug work – and I say this to everybody
– if you're doing it right, within about three years, you're
burnt out and you don't want to do it anymore," he said.
When that time came, he applied at the Clay County
Sheriff’s office as a patrolman and soon worked his
way into an investigative position once again – one he
has held for the past 10 years.
"I’ve worked cases from a simple burglary to homicide,
sexual assault, home invasion – all this crazy stuff,” he
said. "I've worked some really unusual cases.”
As with any job, the role of an investigative detective
has its ups, downs and undeniable stressors.
“You get a little burnt out sometimes and you have to
find other ways to focus," Hicks says.
For him, that usually means not only taking warranted
time off work but also exercising.
"It helps clear your head,” he says. “Don't get me
wrong, I'm not a marathon runner or anything. I like
long walks and things like that – the same stuff I did in
The good life is
being an American.
34 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com