Joseph Wall has wanted to be a police officer since he was a little boy. Today his lifelong dream will come true, but the journey was a difficult one that could have thrown anyone off track.
For as long as the 22-year-old has waited for this day to come, he wasn't always so sure that it would, especially since this is his third attempt at becoming a police officer.
Wall is one of 20 people graduating from the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center. He will work for the Tucson Police Department.
His mother, Janice Holloway, couldn't be prouder.
"This is all he's ever wanted," she said. "Some people decided only a year ago that they wanted to become police officers, but not Joey: He's always wanted to help others and do good."
At the age of 3 Holloway took Wall and his brother to the Tucson Police Department for a tour. Ever since then, Wall said he has admired police officers.
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Wall's stepfather, Greg Perrin, was also a big influence in his wanting to become an officer, Wall said.
Perrin, a highly decorated officer, worked for the department for nearly two decades before he was injured in an on-duty crash in 2004.
"Just seeing him in his uniform and knowing what he was doing for the community … it was something I really wanted," Wall said. "I had always been drawn to police work before, but that really brought it to life."
So when Wall turned 21, he applied at the Tucson Police Department. He passed the physical and written exams but did not make it through the oral board.
Wall — a 2002 Palo Verde High School graduate — took the test again and got through all three phases but was not selected for the academy.
"After the first time, I was upset because I pretty much just got turned down, but I was still determined," he said. "After the second time I was frustrated because I knew I got a little further, but I was starting to wonder if they would ever hire me."
That is when he decided to work for the Arizona Department of Corrections to get some experience, he said.
So every day for about a year and a half, Wall went to work as a corrections officer at the state prison on Wilmot — across the street from the academy.
He picked up his uniforms at a business where they distributed Tucson police uniforms.
"Joey was just so unhappy," his mother said. "I told him that one day he'd be turning into the academy instead of the prison and that he'd be buying uniforms from the other side of the shop and now …"
Last April, Wall tested for the third time and was accepted into the October academy class.
The first day of class he was ill, likely with food poisoning, he said, but he showed up. The class alone was not all that intense but it is the second day that is traditionally known to break recruits down that he was afraid of. Feeling overwhelmed, he called the next morning and quit.
"I don't really know what happened," Wall said. "It's like I had a meltdown. I was told what the academy was like, so I was thinking ahead to the final weeks where they test you to see if you can put all the skills you've learned together and I didn't know if I could do it."
Three hours later Wall regretted his decision to quit, he said.
He called Capt. Clayton Kidd who is in charge of the department's human resource section.
"We had a long heartfelt talk about why I should take him back," Kidd said. "I spoke to him about how important it is to never quit."
Kidd said that after much discussion, he decided to place Wall in the December class.
Kidd said he told Wall "people would be watching to see if he is going to quit again and he gave me his word that he wouldn't."
Kidd is excited to be one of the first to shake Wall's hand today.
After 17 weeks of physical training, classroom work and going through practical scenarios, Wall has no words to express how thankful he is that Kidd gave him another chance.
"I don't know how I can ever repay him," Wall said.
Wall's mother is eagerly awaiting the badge-pinning ceremony as she gets to do the honors.
"Joey's always watched over me, even when I was sick with lupus, he cared for his grandmother who has Alzheimer's, and has always helped me with his brother," Holloway said. "Now he'll be watching over the city, too."
If you go
What: Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center graduation
When: 2 p.m. today.
Where: Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., in the Leo Rich Theater
