Behind The Badge: John Choplin, Reserve Police Officer

Our team doesn’t just talk the talk; they’ve walked the walk. The ‘Behind The Badge’ blog series interviews Utility’s team and discusses their experience in Public Safety. This week, we’ll spotlight John Choplin’s story.

John sat with Utility’s Blog Editor to answer a few questions about his story:

John Choplin joined the Utility, Inc. team as a Business Manager in March 2024. In his current role, he applies his over 25 years of extensive law enforcement knowledge and experience utilizing our life-saving technology to help serve the agencies he once worked with!

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself John.

I grew up in Indiana with my parents, sister, and brother from elementary through high school. As the son of a military father, I considered following in his footsteps. However, after college, my path took a different turn when I received a job offer in the film industry in Burbank, California. The job was a lot of fun and the start of my career in marketing and sales; plus I enjoyed the amazing weather and access to some of the best motorcycle roads in the country that Southern California has to offer.

Living in California, I met a friend who introduced me to the Los Angeles Police Reserve Program. I was fascinated by the idea that after graduating from the year-long academy, I will be a sworn LAPD officer and will be working in the field alongside other full-time officers as well as fellow reserves.

I started the onboarding process that same week. After graduation, I began working patrol and was hooked. I engaged in various Special Patrol Unit (SPU) details, including Street Racing Task Forces and Gang Suppression. The rush from kicking in doors and chasing down suspects in cars and on foot was unforgettable. It was a great way to feed my adrenaline and serve the community.

As any officer with experience knows, you encounter the highs and lows of not just your life, but also the lives of the people you come in contact with. Though you can’t fix everyone’s problems, it is rewarding to hopefully interject some of your own experiences into the lives of many who are at pivotal moments. You hope that by crossing paths, you make a difference, and these people end up choosing a better direction for themselves and the people in their lives.

After working patrol for about eight years, I attended Motor School and was one of nine out of 23 to graduate from my class. This provided me with the exposure of working in the city from outside of the vehicle, or “steel cage” as we call it, and on two wheels. Our team was assigned to the West Traffic Division (WTD), responsible for patrolling some of the busiest areas in Los Angeles including Hollywood and Venice Beach. Later on, I also graduated from Motorcycle Off-Road School, which certified me to ride dirt bikes into areas of the city that people often forget we even patrol.

All of the aforementioned have given me the opportunity to work on many unique details with incredible people from Los Angeles to New York City and Washington D.C. as part of the Police Unity Tour. Most recently, I had the honor to be part of an inter-agency detail invited by the French National Police to work in an LAPD uniform at the Paris 2024 Olympics in both Paris and Marseille. We collaborated with officers from many different countries to keep the games safe.

Balancing these experiences while raising five children with my wife has been incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. The past year, I had been in discussion with my wife about the possibility of a career change that would allow me to pursue one of my two passions: supporting law enforcement officers or working in the motorcycle industry.

After about six months of exploring different opportunities, I found Utility, Inc. I was really impressed by the technology the company offered and how it solved everyday issues officers in the field struggle with. Utility’s mounting system addressed the common problem of cameras falling off or getting in the way of the officers. I saw how the “Officer Down” feature helped protect and save officers’ lives, especially considering how many officers work alone or in remote areas. Utility developed a way to use technology to bring backup when an officer is unable to call for help, and that to me spoke volumes.

Q: What inspired you to choose the path of working in Law Enforcement?

I grew up watching movies and TV shows where the good guys catch the bad guys. When the opportunity arose, I realized it was a chance to feed that hunger and thrill of the chase while also serving the community. It checked all the boxes, and I jumped in with both feet. Every day, I am grateful for the experience this has given me and for all the incredible people I have met along the way. It is an honor and also very rewarding to be a part of protecting my community.

John at the White House in Washington, DC. Part of Police Memorial Week.

John pictured during a Police Unity Tour in New York with the Statue of Liberty.

John Patrolling the Mountains overlooking Los Angeles looking for Arsonists or hikers needing help.

Q: What were some highlights from working in Public Safety?

• The rush of going into dangerous situations which most people try to get away from.
• Learning how to ride motorcycles with such precision.
• Traveling across the country and around the world representing LAPD for Police Memorial Week as well as The Paris 2024 Olympics.

John working with the French motor officers during the Paris 2024 Olympics.

John at the Paris 2024 Olympics Eifell Tower

John at an LAPD Detail in Paris, France for the 2024 Olympics

Q: What has been your biggest “lesson learned” that you’d like to share with other Public Safety leaders?

• Get input from your officers in the field.
• Let officers test out different technologies to see what they find best supports them.
• Make sure officers are properly trained on the functionality of how the technology supports them and make sure they are completely comfortable using said technology.

Q: What does Transparency mean to you?

• Being open and honest about what happened or is happening in order to maintain integrity
• Documenting any misconduct so the responsible party may be held accountable for their actions

Q: How have you seen Technology aid in Public Safety?

Effectively using technology is critical to public safety. It upholds faster and more accurate communication, improves response times, maintains integrity in evidence collection, and, most importantly, saves lives.

Q:  What advice would you give to an agency going through the process of selecting a Body Camera System?

Determine department objectives/goals to accomplish with the Body Camera system. Ask how the technology will help protect lives and the integrity of the incidents your officers come across. Investigate different companies to see what solutions they offer. Some may offer solutions you had not considered or knew were available.

What drew me to Utility was the ability/scope of their Body Worn Cameras:

• Save officers’ lives when they need help and cannot put out the help call
• The automatic activation to prevent officers from falling out of policy by forgetting to turn their cameras on when being faced with a life-or-death situation
• The ability for departments to get rid of their docking stations – so much time is wasted waiting for videos to upload, and too often, officers forget their cameras on the docking station
• Utility has addressed problems that I have experienced using body cameras. The department I work for has been using it for years.
• The integrated mounting platform is less bulky and looks cleaner/sleeker – most importantly, it is more secure than external-mount cameras. We have seen too many critical cases lose out on documenting evidence because the cameras have fallen of the officer in a scuffle or during tactical situations.