Spent 13 years with the Bellevue Police Department, Six years with the Washington State Gambling and 13 years with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.
1. Where did you grown up & what was it like?
I grew up in several places mostly in Colorado spending a few of my younger years in Hanna Wyoming. We moved from place to place while my dad followed construction work. He worked as a carpenter most of the time with the exception of coal mining while we lived in Wyoming. During my teen-age years we lived in Brighton, Co where I met my best friend at the time. He later moved to Denver and I went there a lot to visit. Through him I met my wife when she was 12 & I was only 13 (we married in later years though). I did not really care about living in Brighton and would have much rather lived in Denver so I spent most of my time there especially after getting a driver’s license and a car. In my later high school years we moved closer to Denver to a town called Derby.
I got married in 1960 and worked at various jobs mostly in the silk screen business. Around 1966 I started thinking about being a police officer but did not pursue that career until we moved to Washington State. I worked at Boeing Co for 3 years before being hired as a patrolman for the City of Bellevue WA, a suburb of Seattle.
2. What were your positions & titles? What is your favorite part of working for your department?
I started out my career as a patrolman at the age of 27 which was much later than most other officers. After 3 ½ years in patrol I was promoted to the detective division where I worked as a narcotic’s detective. After 18 months there I went into the person’s crime unit, as a Person’s Detective, where I investigated rape, robbery, assault and homicide cases. After 13 years with Bellevue I went to work for the Washington State Gambling Commission as a Special Investigator and then onto the Washington State Attorney General’s Office with the Homicide Investigation Tracking System (HITS for short). My title there was Senior/Supervisor Investigator/Analyst. There we collected homicide cases state wide, entered them into a computer system and looked for case linkage. We also reviewed homicide cases for police agencies, gave them procedural advice and investigative assistance. I also gave classes to detectives from other agencies.
As you can see I worked for 3 different agencies during my 32 years so I am not sure if I can make a determination of my favorite thing. I will say that I enjoyed every step in my career but one of the most memorable was during my 18 months in the narcotic division. We made a lot of drug cases and I worked undercover at times to make them happen. I also worked surveillance while my partners were undercover. This was a very exciting time at the PD. The most favorite part of working for the Gambling Commission are the people that I worked with. We had some great times from playing poker to making great meals in the office at lunch time. Working at the HITS unit was a great job in that I got involved in the investigation of many homicide cases without having to be called out in the middle of the night or going to the sometimes gory crime scene and it was exciting to review cases and help other agencies with their investigations. This was the best of both worlds so to speak.
3. How do you define success?
I think success is defined as being happy with what you are doing, doing a good job at it and being remembered by your fellow peers as a good person and a good investigator.
4. What have you learned over your lifetime that you’d like to share with the younger generation?
One thing is what I stated under question 3. Just being a good person, doing the best job you can do and doing a job that you really enjoy. Knowing that you can do anything that you set out to do but not allowing the job to take over other things in your life, such as a spouse and children.
5. What is your favorite hobby?
Currently my favorite hobby is entering all our photographs into my computer system. We have thousands and it is taking a good deal of time. My last hobby was wood working, making clocks, boxes and wall hangings. We moved into a smaller home recently and I don’t have the room I once had, so the wood working has slowed down some. I am attempting to write some stories also.
6. Who has had the greatest influence on you?
I would have to say that my mom & dad had the most influence on me as they both told me to always be the best at whatever I did in life. Neither of them was in law enforcement but they taught me a lot.
I have to also give my wife of 52 years a lot of credit for staying with me and supporting me in my year career.
7. What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?
I think my legacy is that I was helpful in setting modern standards for investigating homicide and rape cases for the Bellevue Police Department before I left there.
I cannot say with certainty that the world is better because of me but I would like to think so. Given the above statement and the fact that I did a lot of training during my career I think I made at least a small impact.
8. What’s the funniest work story/event you remember?
I was working the night shift in patrol, sneaking around some buildings looking for possible burglars. I had all my lights off as well as the brake lights. I was creeping very slowly when I drove over a speed bump which made me hit the horn accidently. So much for being sneaky as anyone for several blocks would have heard the horn honk.
9. Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you would care to comment on?
I would like to say that my wife and I got married when I was18 and she was only 17. We had two children, a boy and a girl two years after him. We have been married for 52 years and she stood behind me all the way through my career. We also have 4 granddaughters and one great granddaughter (where are all the boys). My wife and I both come from a large family with 6 siblings each.
10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it?
I would have to say that currently my favorite meal is East Indian food. I love the flavors and the great after taste it gives me. I sometimes drink a glass of red wine with this meal but just as often I just drink water.
1. Where did you grown up & what was it like?
I grew up in several places mostly in Colorado spending a few of my younger years in Hanna Wyoming. We moved from place to place while my dad followed construction work. He worked as a carpenter most of the time with the exception of coal mining while we lived in Wyoming. During my teen-age years we lived in Brighton, Co where I met my best friend at the time. He later moved to Denver and I went there a lot to visit. Through him I met my wife when she was 12 & I was only 13 (we married in later years though). I did not really care about living in Brighton and would have much rather lived in Denver so I spent most of my time there especially after getting a driver’s license and a car. In my later high school years we moved closer to Denver to a town called Derby.
I got married in 1960 and worked at various jobs mostly in the silk screen business. Around 1966 I started thinking about being a police officer but did not pursue that career until we moved to Washington State. I worked at Boeing Co for 3 years before being hired as a patrolman for the City of Bellevue WA, a suburb of Seattle.
2. What were your positions & titles? What is your favorite part of working for your department?
I started out my career as a patrolman at the age of 27 which was much later than most other officers. After 3 ½ years in patrol I was promoted to the detective division where I worked as a narcotic’s detective. After 18 months there I went into the person’s crime unit, as a Person’s Detective, where I investigated rape, robbery, assault and homicide cases. After 13 years with Bellevue I went to work for the Washington State Gambling Commission as a Special Investigator and then onto the Washington State Attorney General’s Office with the Homicide Investigation Tracking System (HITS for short). My title there was Senior/Supervisor Investigator/Analyst. There we collected homicide cases state wide, entered them into a computer system and looked for case linkage. We also reviewed homicide cases for police agencies, gave them procedural advice and investigative assistance. I also gave classes to detectives from other agencies.
As you can see I worked for 3 different agencies during my 32 years so I am not sure if I can make a determination of my favorite thing. I will say that I enjoyed every step in my career but one of the most memorable was during my 18 months in the narcotic division. We made a lot of drug cases and I worked undercover at times to make them happen. I also worked surveillance while my partners were undercover. This was a very exciting time at the PD. The most favorite part of working for the Gambling Commission are the people that I worked with. We had some great times from playing poker to making great meals in the office at lunch time. Working at the HITS unit was a great job in that I got involved in the investigation of many homicide cases without having to be called out in the middle of the night or going to the sometimes gory crime scene and it was exciting to review cases and help other agencies with their investigations. This was the best of both worlds so to speak.
3. How do you define success?
I think success is defined as being happy with what you are doing, doing a good job at it and being remembered by your fellow peers as a good person and a good investigator.
4. What have you learned over your lifetime that you’d like to share with the younger generation?
One thing is what I stated under question 3. Just being a good person, doing the best job you can do and doing a job that you really enjoy. Knowing that you can do anything that you set out to do but not allowing the job to take over other things in your life, such as a spouse and children.
5. What is your favorite hobby?
Currently my favorite hobby is entering all our photographs into my computer system. We have thousands and it is taking a good deal of time. My last hobby was wood working, making clocks, boxes and wall hangings. We moved into a smaller home recently and I don’t have the room I once had, so the wood working has slowed down some. I am attempting to write some stories also.
6. Who has had the greatest influence on you?
I would have to say that my mom & dad had the most influence on me as they both told me to always be the best at whatever I did in life. Neither of them was in law enforcement but they taught me a lot.
I have to also give my wife of 52 years a lot of credit for staying with me and supporting me in my year career.
7. What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?
I think my legacy is that I was helpful in setting modern standards for investigating homicide and rape cases for the Bellevue Police Department before I left there.
I cannot say with certainty that the world is better because of me but I would like to think so. Given the above statement and the fact that I did a lot of training during my career I think I made at least a small impact.
8. What’s the funniest work story/event you remember?
I was working the night shift in patrol, sneaking around some buildings looking for possible burglars. I had all my lights off as well as the brake lights. I was creeping very slowly when I drove over a speed bump which made me hit the horn accidently. So much for being sneaky as anyone for several blocks would have heard the horn honk.
9. Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you would care to comment on?
I would like to say that my wife and I got married when I was18 and she was only 17. We had two children, a boy and a girl two years after him. We have been married for 52 years and she stood behind me all the way through my career. We also have 4 granddaughters and one great granddaughter (where are all the boys). My wife and I both come from a large family with 6 siblings each.
10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it?
I would have to say that currently my favorite meal is East Indian food. I love the flavors and the great after taste it gives me. I sometimes drink a glass of red wine with this meal but just as often I just drink water.
Short Bio: Gary F. Trent, born in 1942 in Colorado Springs, Co. I lived in several places in Colorado, Wyoming, and Washington State & now in Arizona. I have been married to the same wife for 52 years. We have two children, a boy and a girl, four granddaughters and one great granddaughter. I spent 13 years with the Bellevue Police Department, Six years with the Washington State Gambling and 13 years with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.
We have traveled extensively over the years going to Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Bolivia, Balez, Costa Rica, Madagascar and France. Our daughter owns and runs a Bed & Breakfast in southern France and we have been there often. We plan on a trip to Panama this fall with a possibility of living there or maybe house sitting
We have traveled extensively over the years going to Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Bolivia, Balez, Costa Rica, Madagascar and France. Our daughter owns and runs a Bed & Breakfast in southern France and we have been there often. We plan on a trip to Panama this fall with a possibility of living there or maybe house sitting
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