Josh Fletcher: Gentle Giant

Officer Fletcher’s Dual Roles as Protector and Compassionate Samaritan

At 6'7" and 400 pounds, Officer Josh Fletcher disarms many potentially volatile situations at work simply by showing up. But those who know him know Josh Fletcher to be much different than what meets the eye.

“Everybody always says I’m two personalities,” he said. “When I’m at work, I’m very quiet and very calm. It’s a mode that I have to get into because you have to try to keep emotion out of things. It’s just a type of mindset that you have to be in to be able to do this job.”

Unlike many in the department, Fletcher came to his role without any previous security or law enforcement experience. Thus, the job took some adjustment for about the first two years of service. 

“Yeah, my first year I fractured my left foot when a patient threw an IV pole at me. That’s the only real injury I’ve had here other than scrapes and scratches and punches to the face that kind of hurt your pride more than anything,” he said. “As time went on, I got to see the impact I could have on people. 

“When you sit with a child that’s alone because their parent just got killed in a car wreck — you’re there to console them and you give them a little bit of happiness and not being afraid — that means a lot. When you save a nurse from being attacked by a patient and you see how grateful they are, that makes you feel pretty good.” 

Away from work, Fletcher decompresses through time with his son and engages in an unusual hobby. He and his mother go dumpster-diving to retrieve usable and often brand-new items they can then donate to local nonprofits. 

“There’s a lot of waste in the U.S.,” he said. “There’s a lot of companies that’ll throw perfectly good food out, clothing that’s in boxes. Sometimes there’s one shirt torn up and 25 of them will be brand new and they’ll throw the whole thing in the dumpster. We’ve found full boxes of puzzle books and brand-new books from all over. We get tons of dog food that we donate to shelters or to people. It’s like a little treasure hunt.”