It can almost look glamorous on TV.

Cinema-worthy settings, an exotic cast of characters, even the bad guys, attractive and photogenic -everything just right and ready for the spotlight.

And because it’s a television program, the camera is artfully trained to dance around the grim circumstances driving the action, often gliding past any of the true unpleasantries of what’s happening.

In reality, there’s nothing entertaining, exciting or glamorous about crime scene.

Even the shows that get close don’t really do it justice.

Put plainly, real life is not CSI.

“The thing that sticks the most is dealing with the smells,” Corporal Bryant Pascoe of the Albany Police Department’s Crime Scene Investigations Unit told me recently during an engaging Beyond the Bank round robin with three of his fellow team members. “Hollywood is pretty good as far as the visuals. You can observe any horror movie, that’s a good visual of what an actual scene can look like.

“But, just, the smells. You can’t prepare for the smell of a body that’s been in a home for three months in the summer.”

“You can’t put in words the smell,” agreed Crime Scene Technician Fontasia Thurmond, one of two civilians who currently serve on the unit as part of a new program that has opened up law enforcement careers for non-officers. “Once you smell it, you know what it is.”

“Those decomposed bodies are probably the absolute worst,” concurred fellow civilian CST Deandra Francis. “We encounter those types of things, so you have to have a strong stomach, cause the smells are absolutely horrible.”

“Things like that, you can’t prepare for,” concluded Cpl. Pascoe. “It’s just… you do it. You can take it or you can’t.”

While discussing the powerful odors the crime scene team faces on a regular basis might seem like—at best, stating the obvious, or at worst, seeming insensitive—the fact is, navigating the dirtier, darker and downright uglier, areas of the city, and to a certain extent, the human psyche, is a reality of the job. And quite frankly, not everyone is built for that reality, a fact Pascoe says folks, himself included, discover quite profoundly.

“Especially when dealing with a job like this, I believe that we are all designed, and able, to do a certain thing,” explained Cpl. Pascoe, a nine-year veteran of the force, who has spent the last five in the crime scene unit. “I personally couldn’t be a teacher. I don’t have the patience or the ability to deal with all the things that they deal with.

“And yet, this job, as gruesome (as it is)—and it does weigh on you, we deal with such negative things, extremes that most people will never endure--you deal with that. And yet that alone lets me know that this was just something that I was designed to handle, because the average person wouldn’t be able to process that and still function with what we would deem normal behavior. So I think that you know early on.”

For officers like Cpl. Pascoe, and fellow crime scene unit member Corporal Craig Billsby—who has been with APD for a decade, spending half of that time in the crime scene unit—having a background that saw them attend police academy and spend their early years working patrol on the streets, they had some idea of what working in crime scene investigations might be like. But for the two civilians on the team, they had to follow their instincts and hope it worked out.

As anticipated, they both discovered instantly that they had the necessary ability to handle the tougher aspects, while also thriving in the myriad details of managing a crime scene—collecting and processing evidence, preparing reports and assisting in prosecutions.

“Actually, our first day on the job, we got to go to an autopsy,” CST Thurmond shared while fighting back a small chuckle. “And it’s crazy because after the autopsy, we were so hungry and we went to Outback and ordered steaks. Steaks and ribs!

“Being able to deal with the stuff, and the things we see on a day-to-day basis, you have to be able to compartmentalize. And also desensitize, because we just went to an autopsy where you see the different layers of tissue and bones and stuff like that. And it’s ironic because the first trip that we make is to Outback to get steaks and ribs.”

For CSTs Thurmond and Francis, as well as for Corporals Billsby and Pascoe, the ability to compartmentalize what they encounter is likely a product of the fact that all four are very detail-oriented and enjoy the structured nature of their job—letting their intense focus on the minute details they’re examining stay in the forefront of their minds.

“When you’re on a crime scene you really want to be diligent,” said CST Francis. “So when we get there we already have a check list, per se, (for) when you get on the scene, saying like we have to do this, we have to do that. If we’re on the scene, we have to make sure we do initial walkthroughs. When we think we’re done processing, we do final walkthroughs, just to make sure that we’re not forgetting everything. Did we cover all of our bases?

“So that’s something you have to think about because you know this might potentially go to court. We have to make sure we’ve got those proper documentations. So you have to think about that to make sure we’re doing our due diligence, on the scene, especially for the families.”

In addition to the joy derived from the job (and in the cases of CSTs Thurmond and Francis using their Bachelor’s in Forensic Science degrees), the members clearly also draw inspiration and strength from the fact that all four are living out childhood dreams.

Thurmond—a native of New Jersey who grew up in the Atlanta area as a member of large family with several relatives working in policing and/or serving in the military—said that in addition to her family connections to the profession, she also saw plenty of difficult things happen to people in and around her orbit as she grew up, and that she has known for some time that she wanted a career working in law enforcement.

“Seeing things growing up in cities larger than Albany you kind of want to find justice, or you don’t want people to relive or see what you’ve seen,” she said. “So, you know, ‘Hey, I know what it’s like to go through this, so let me see if I can help this person so they don’t have to grieve or feel how you feel about certain situations.’ And that’s what got me into forensics and crime scene.”

Similarly, Francis said that she too knew from an early age, growing up in her native St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, that she wanted to solve crimes and hopefully chart a path for others in similar circumstances. But she also finds some childhood inspiration in an unlikely place.

“A lot of places have their bad part, but being a child in the Caribbean, in the small places, you really see a lot of different things and I didn’t want to be that way, so um, you know that just gave me the push I needed to be an example,” she explained. “You know you want to lead by example and just be that good aspect that other people want to see. What led me into this field, honestly, as a kid and even now, Scooby Doo is honestly my favorite character. Being into solving mysteries and then going into forensic science, it led me here, so I absolutely love it.”

Despite the fact that both CSTs Francis and Thurmond took a different route, as civilians, into their chosen field, fulfillment of childhood dreams was also a key motivator for Pascoe and Billsby.

“I have a few family members that are in the corrections aspect (of law enforcement),” Pascoe said when I asked how a South Florida native ended up working with APD. “I have maybe four or five that actually work in corrections.

“It was kind of like a childhood dream I guess. Watching Cops since it began, it was just always something that interested me. I can honestly say, right now, I’m living out a dream basically.”

Billsby, who grew up in a military family that lived in various places across the globe, is also living out the dream of his youth. And not just as a member of law enforcement but as a member of the Crime Scene Unit—the exact department he’d hoped to join when first deciding to join the force.

“I always wanted to help people and catch the bad guy,” Cpl. Billsby shared. “As a beat officer for five years I got to do it firsthand. And being in crime scene, that’s honestly what I wanted to do since I was a young kid. And now I get to process scenes, get evidence and actually give the investigators the ammunition and evidence they need to lock up the real bad guys.”

And at the end of the day, regardless of the path each took to arrive at the Crime Scene Unit, it’s that common denominator of wanting to do their part to make society a better place by helping to ensure justice is served, that drove each of them to follow their passions.

It was evident throughout our conversation that all four of the unit members I sat with truly have a passion for their work. Each of them, once we began talking in earnest about the things they get to do each day, clearly enjoys the nuts and bolts process of using their training and skills to collect and analyze evidence in a quest for justice.

And despite television shows and Hollywood movies cleaning things up just a touch for a wide audience, the methods of investigating crime scenes are a few of the things they do get, mostly, right.

“With crime scene we do a wide variety,” said CST Francis. “We take photographs, documenting, you know, the crime scene, collecting our evidence. Once that happens on the scene, we go and process these (pieces). And then those people who are specialized in different areas, like maybe firearms analysis or blood stain analysis, and those different things, we send our results to different labs and have them do what they do, as far as specialization.”

“It’s not all fun and games,” added Cpl. Billsby. “It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of detail driven reporting and documentation. But it has its rewards.

“When you do things properly, when all the pieces fit together and it gets to court, or they finally find that suspect, they can’t get out of it. They have no argument. They have nothing that they can use to try and get away. You know you’ve got the right person. And that right there is rewarding enough for me to have to go through all the negative. Because I can help that one person get closure to who stole their items, who shot their family member. And that right there, to me, is why I do this job.”

Indeed, all four expressed genuine satisfaction in being able to truly have a positive impact on others, a fact that, quite frankly, goes a long way toward helping the team get through the negative aspects of the job—things like foul smells and horror-movie scenes, right here in our community.

As Cpl. Pascoe alluded to multiple times, it takes a special kind of person to handle the things they deal with each shift and still show up the next day, ready to serve the community.

“The aspect we deal with is always a negative aspect from the law enforcement end,” explained Cpl. Pascoe, as we discussed his experiences since moving to Albany and getting to know the community he serves. “And so, I mean, you have to intentionally search out the good aspects of the city. The city definitely offers great aspects. Coming from a larger city, the slower pace, that’s beneficial as well. So, you know, dealing with the city from a law enforcement perspective, you have to intentionally find those types of things because we deal with the negative aspects, 24 hours a day, technically.”

Thankfully in addition to the peace that comes with doing what you love, the Albany Police Department does a good job preparing employees for what they might deal with and offers plenty of support to help them get through those tougher moments.

“One thing that we’re taught early on is, you have to think about it as a job,” added CST Francis. “Try not to take it personally. Try to think about what you have to do in order to preserve, collect and process the evidence that’s on hand.

“It does at times, depending on what scene you go to, it can play a role. It can weigh down on you. Because, as Corporal Pascoe stated, we do deal with the worst of the worst and it takes a strong person to be able to separate that from their home life, from their life outside of the department. But when you actually do, it is easy to see all the good things in life, all the positives that are around that you wouldn’t see otherwise—basically opening your eyes to what the city really is, instead of what you deal with on the daily.”

“The Albany Police Department does offer mentors and somebody to talk to if you need to unload and get some things off your chest, like a counselor,” added CST Thurmond. “Everybody’s not comfortable talking to a stranger. For me personally I call my mom. Like, ‘Hey, it’s been a rough day, cheer me up.’ Just something to bring you back to the world is not all bad, even though you see bad and negativity on a regular basis.”

“Not only that, but the department itself offers training for all the personnel as far as, you know, ethics and how to perform and how to handle certain situations when you get on the scene,” CST Francis added. “So, it’s actually a training for the whole department.”

The training and emotional support aspects provided to the entire police force was one of the many positive things the foursome shared about their experiences working not only on the Crime Scene team but about being part of the APD family.

CSTs Francis and Thurmond, especially, had praise for the forward-thinking civilian program that opened up the opportunity for them to follow their dreams.

“This is a very much a new opportunity that was given to us,” said SCT Francis, who interestingly enough had earned her degree in Forensic Science from Albany State University before ultimately returning here to take a job in that very field. “We’re the first two in the program, out of 400 plus applicants. So, they took a chance on us. (And) we’re showing that being fresh out of college, listen, take a chance on those college students with Forensic Science degrees. You’ll be surprised.

“A lot of times you have to be a police officer, to get into this field, but a lot of us don’t want to be police officers, you know what I mean. We want to be in a lab, on a crime scene.”

And for any fellow dreamer interested in exploring the same kind of career path as the two civilian team members, CSTs Thurmond and Francis assure them they won’t be disappointed.

“As civilian crime scene technicians we honestly do the exact same job (as our officer counterparts),” CST Francis explained. “It’s just the fact that we are not police officers. We do not have arresting powers. But we literally do the same thing on a day-to-day basis, as far as processing scenes, any evidence that comes through. We process those in a lab. If you’re interested in Forensic Science as far as like collecting video, digital, collecting fingerprints, you know, doing those things that you would, I hate to mention it, (see on) Forensic Files or all those CSI shows, a lot of that is fabricated, however it is giving you an example of what we do on a daily basis for sure.”

Of course, Corporals Pascoe and Billsby, while deeply committed to crime scene work, were both quick to also point out the overall joys of serving in law enforcement, regardless of department, and the ways it fulfills their deeper senses of justice and doing the right thing.

“I grew up in a family that was Christian values, so it was always the value of doing what was right,” Cpl. Pascoe shared. “We always heard of justice. And I think with those things being installed at such an early age, you know without me consciously realizing it, that was the springboard that pushed toward me wanting to have a career in law enforcement.

“We need reliable individuals that can deal with it, that can come and help us in this field,” he added emphatically. “Currently we have a lot of positions that are open. So, if you guys are out there, Albany Police Department is looking for qualified individuals who are willing to come in and make the sacrifice of dealing with these negative aspects of life.”

As someone whose time in journalism always kept him abreast of the goings on around APD, and our other law enforcement agencies, I’m not at all surprised by Cpl. Pascoe’s assertion that help is needed.

Thankfully for our community, that proximity also means I’m not in least bit surprised by the earnest passion and dedication of true servants like Bryant Pascoe, Craig Billsby, Fontasia Thurmond, Deandra Francis and the many other men and women serving in local law enforcement.

Connect with Brad – 229.405.7212 - [email protected] - @BradGMcEwen 

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