Snapshot: JCPD officer driven by passion to help

Police officer Charlie St. Onge stands outside the Jefferson City Police Department. Onge received the city's June employee service award.
Police officer Charlie St. Onge stands outside the Jefferson City Police Department. Onge received the city's June employee service award.

Police officer Charlie St. Onge received the Jefferson City June outstanding employee service award for his passion to help people and remain calm in difficult situations.

St. Onge has been a police officer with the Jefferson City Police Department for five years. Prior to becoming a police officer, St. Onge worked as a 9-1-1 operator for the department for two years. He also worked as a communications operator for Lincoln University for two years.

St. Onge said he knew at a young age he wanted to be a police officer, just like his great-grandfather, who was a constable in the St. Louis area.

Since he also liked to help people, St. Onge said, going into law enforcement seemed like the obvious choice.

"I know that's probably cliche because everybody says it, but you really get to see where you made a difference in somebody else's life and you kind of get to look back on that," he said. "Even when you go to a call a few weeks down the road or a few months down the road, someone may remember you and say, 'Thanks for that help with that and doing what you did there.' That's what it's all about."

St. Onge recently had one of those experiences. About nine months ago, he and another officer spoke with a struggling girl for about an hour and a half. They helped "get her set up and get her moving in the right direction," he said, adding he didn't hear from her after that conversation.

"Then, probably a month ago, I was at the gas station across the street getting video for another case and she came running across the parking lot, waving her arms and was like, 'Everything's going good. I've got a job and I'm going to school' and she just started naming all of this stuff that was going great for her," St. Onge said. "That made me just so happy to see that things had taken a turn for her, and she was doing great."

It's important to remember those positive moments, he said, especially since the most challenging part of the job is going to difficult calls where "it's not the outcome that you wanted."

When St. Onge was training, he remembers responding to a call where a child discovered his mother had collapsed in her bedroom and called 9-1-1. St. Onge and another officer performed CPR on the woman before emergency medical services arrived and took her to the hospital. The woman died shortly later, around the same day as her son's birthday.

"There are some calls that you're glad other people don't have to see that and it can take a toll on people," he said. "That part is always kind of difficult to deal with, but you've got other officers who have your back and you can go talk to them about it if you have an issue with a call. It's a really close department here, so we all work well together, and we all have each other's backs."

St. Onge advised those wanting to go into law enforcement to "be committed" but not forget about family and friends.

"Unfortunately, you don't always see that and a lot of people lose that aspect over time," he said. "If you're going to do it, be dedicated, but at the same time, remember where you came from. Don't just work yourself to death because it's not worth it."

St. Onge said he understands how that could be difficult, especially in his profession. He described how his family helped residents in the days after the May 22 EF-3 tornado and how he wished he could have assisted his family. St. Onge's family reminded him he was helping in his own way, he added.

St. Onge was working in north Jefferson City the night of the tornado and remembers seeing the twister hit the water before evaporating. While the tornado left behind a disaster zone, he said, he was amazed by how the community - and even outside communities - came together.

"It could not have turned out any better for us as a community because the loss of life was nothing and the amount of the community came together was insane," he said. "You don't see that anywhere else. So, that's pretty neat to see that."

Outside of work, St. Onge enjoys spending time with his family and wife, Lauren. The couple is also expecting their first child later this year.