4 cruisers, 3 towns, 1 cop

ROSALIA, Wash. – John Goyke is always on call.He’s the town marshal for Oakesdale, population 400, nestled in the rolling farmland south of Spokane.

That is, until he switches his badge, his uniform and his car to start a part-time evening shift as the only police officer for nearby Malden, an old railroad town. And on weekends, he’s one of two officers patrolling the small town of Rosalia, where he lives with his four police cars – two for Oakesdale, one each for Malden and Rosalia – parked outside.

Each shift brings a trip back to Rosalia to trade cars and uniforms. Each shift brings a different set of city ordinances to enforce and another mayor’s list of priorities to follow.

Does he ever mix them up? Absolutely.

But Goyke knows these towns are territorial about law enforcement, and they don’t allow him much room for mistakes.

“If something goes wrong, ultimately I’m responsible,” he said. “People hold you personally accountable for what happens in their town.”

And in these towns, where food can still be purchased on credit with the grocer, Goyke is a familiar face. In Oakesdale on Thursday, a man enthusiastically showed him some new bullets he bought for hunting coyotes. In Malden, Goyke chatted with Mayor Andy Harp about the features of his new patrol car. Harp said she doesn’t know what she’d do without him.

Goyke, 29, grew up in Rosalia. After graduating from high school, he spent eight years earning degrees in political science, law and criminal justice.

He wanted to settle in the area – his family owns a large farm there. But now he isn’t so sure.

“It’s not easy,” he said. “When you work 80 hours a week, one year is like two years.”

In the two years Goyke has been a marshal, those extra hours have meant progress, and lots of it. Goyke has secured thousands of dollars in grants for new equipment and, most recently, another patrol car. He built a working police station in Malden, much of it with equipment he donated. And he’s helped bring a sense of security to these small towns that once had little or no city law enforcement.

“If I were part of the public, what would I want my marshal doing?” Goyke said. “It’s rewarding when you know you’ve helped them out somehow.”

Rosalia Marshal Robert Fitzgerald has worked with Goyke for a year and a half. He said Goyke often works 12-hour shifts, six days a week – although Goyke said he has to take a few hours off to launder his uniforms.

“There’s no way to wash the uniform while I’m wearing it,” he said with a smile.

Fitzgerald said Goyke is sensitive to the needs of his job.

“He’s enthusiastic to be involved in everything that’s going on,” he said. “Thank God he’s young.”

Goyke has led a runaway horse to City Hall to be impounded, made arrests for vandalism of Oakesdale’s historic flour mill and helped clean up unkempt yards.But around here, he might be more well-known for his activities off the job: Bringing people home from the Colfax jail after they’ve been arrested for a DUI; making sure a teenager had a helmet so he wouldn’t hurt himself while riding a motorcycle, or helping an animal-control agent buy a uniform so she could feel safer at work.

“I was always taught growing up, you leave something better than you found it,” he said. “I’ve committed so much time to these towns that I’d feel bad if something happened. At the same time, I realize I can’t do this forever.”

Goyke said he thinks about moving away; possibly working for the federal government. But to him, nothing will ever beat cruising down the highway, looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing the sun set over the miles of fields behind him.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – being a rural policeman in some awesome scenery,” he said. “It makes it all worth it.”