our heroes: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Law Enforcement Hero —
Tracey Mel Cryer: Willow Park Police Department
BY KATIE RODGERS
T
of the Harley Owners Group (HOG)
chapter with Ft. Worth Harley as well
as a Shriner with the Moslah Temple
in Fort Worth. Being in law enforcement and witnessing many lives on
the path of destruction and many
more lost, he often takes the time to
remind himself why he does what
he does and how much his own life
means to him.
Law enforcement in general is a
dangerous career and officers don’t
always enjoy what they see. Though
some like to think they enjoy pulling
people over at times, their jobs are
one of the hardest not only physically, but mentally and emotionally
as well, Cryer said.
“Cops see the negative sides of
things, we don’t get called out to be
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
began his law enforcement career
with the Parker County Sheriff’s
Office in 2003. He later joined the
Willow Park Police Department in
2008. Cryer has spent 12 years in
law enforcement, and throughout
that time acquired an Advanced
Peace Officers License. He is also
a Certified Firearms Instructor,
Basic Peace Officer Instructor, and
a Field Training Officer. To add to
his record, Cryer is also a certified
Dive master, with a PADI in SCUBA
diving.
With such a hectic schedule, it’s
true he doesn’t get a lot of down
time, however, in the little free time
he does manage to squeeze out,
Officer Cryer is a pretty laid back
individual. He enjoys spending time
with his wife, riding his motorcycle
and playing pool. Cryer is a member
SEPTEMBER 2015
he first thing that often comes
to mind when we think of law
enforcement is the many famous
crime fighting heroes we watch on
T.V.; Olivia Benson from Law &
Order maybe, or perhaps the stern
but ever-so-charming Leroy Jethro
Gibbs from NCIS. As entertaining as
our favorite characters’ lives seem,
always full of mystery and thrills, the
real life law enforcement business is
slightly different, according to Willow
Park patrol officer Tracey Mel Cryer.
“As a kid you think lights and
sirens and all that but as you get
older it’s kind of been there, done
that,” Cryer said of his experience in
the field.
Officer Cryer was born in Illinois
in May of 1970 shortly before his
family moved to Tennessee in the fall
of 1976. Cryer lived there until 1989,
when he graduated high school and
then moved to Nashville. There he
married Angela and they had two
sons and a daughter. The Cryers
recently became proud grandparents
in the summer of 2014. In 1998,
Cryer and his wife moved to Fort
Worth, where they started a small
construction company; however,
three years later Cryer followed
his passion and started at the Basic
Police Academy at Weatherford
College. He also attended an
Emergency Medical Technician class
the following year. Officer Cryer and
his wife moved to Weatherford in
2002 and decided to make the quiet
community their permanent home.
Before law enforcement, Cryer
went to John A. Gupton Mortuary
College and worked in the funeral
business for some time. He enjoyed
interacting with the different families and though he knew they were
going through exceptionally rough
times, Cryer also knew he was helping, and to him there was no greater
peace. After graduating from the
Weatherford Police Academy, Cryer
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