LYNNWOOD — When his children were young, Alan Correa tried never to bring his work home with him.
The police sergeant has been patrolling Lynnwood for 27 years. Being on the graveyard shift meant he still could make plenty of school drop-offs, swim lessons and family meals.
Jordan Correa, the middle of his three kids, always was all about the soccer. A few years ago, he surprised his father with the news that he wanted to become a police officer.
Then came the second surprise: Jordan Correa was applying with Lynnwood. It just made sense, he said. He looked up to his dad, he grew up around police, and he liked being part of a team.
Alan Correa thought it over. He decided he would not give Jordan any special instructions. He wanted his son, now 28, to make it on his own merits. He warned him that it would be a long and intense process. His son had to earn the right, and learn along the way, just like everybody else.
Father and son share their interest in soccer. Alan Correa, 55, played in the U.S. Air Force, and Jordan Correa stayed with the game throughout his time at Meadowdale High School and in college.
The Correa family gets together often — one of Jordan’s siblings is a stay-at-home mother and another works for a space exploration company. And now Alan and Jordan Correa have even more in common.
“We talk about work and soccer, and my mom has to stop us and get us back on track,” Jordan Correa said.
On the job, Jordan Correa runs into people from school, including someone who had warrants, he said.
His father came to Lynnwood by happenstance. Alan Correa was in the military the first time he visited town. He stopped by the Denny’s on 196th Street SW. There, he got to talking to Lynnwood police Sgt. Scott Crichton, who encouraged him to apply.
All these years later, he thinks of his role in law enforcement much like his duties as a husband and father — it’s about honoring others, he said. He often gets thanked by strangers on the streets, another reason he likes Lynnwood.
On less positive days, the sights and sounds of the job make him realize even more how fortunate he is to have his family.
It said a lot about the city, Jordan Correa said, that his father chose to raise his children here.
Now, “I can come back and help the community grow,” he said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.
