DeMorris Dean served his country in the U.S. Army Reserves and the people of Iowa at the State Penitentiary in Fort Madison and the now-shuttered Iowa Juvenile Home (IJH) in Toledo before coming onboard as a Marshall County Sheriff’s Deputy almost 23 years ago. And now that the first Black deputy in the county’s history has retired, he’ll continue to look for new ways to serve others in the future.

A native of Chicago by way of St. Louis, Dean first came to the area as a student at Iowa State University (ISU) and returned to the state after his initial military service to work in Fort Madison before later becoming an activity specialist at the juvenile home. In 2002, he was hired at the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) just before the current sheriff, Joel Phillips.

“We worked midnights together, and we would make it interesting. We would find different things to do, park checks, and coming from an agricultural background and farm animals, DeMo didn’t have that experience coming from the Chicago area,” Phillips said. “And a lot of times, (we were) rounding horses, cattle and sheep.”

Despite considering law school, Dean decided law enforcement was the right path for him and reflected on the considerations that went into his decisions based on his experiences in the military.

“As I looked at those and the weighted factors of not wanting to be moved and the autonomy that an officer has to make their own decisions, (it) highly rated the Sheriff’s Office as a place for employment,” he said.

Dean has particularly vivid memories of working motorcycle patrol early in his tenure and pulling up to handle loose cattle.

“I don’t dislike animals. I just don’t understand them. I can talk to people. I can’t talk to animals, and I don’t know what their intent is,” he said.

In a similar vein, Phillips recalled serving an arrest warrant together on an individual who owned a dog on a log chain and wondering how long it was — ultimately, there were no injuries, but Dean’s pants did get ripped in the process. On a more serious note, the deputy explained that he got involved in law enforcement at a time when African-Americans did not feel well-represented or well-treated by the police.

“That was a learning process to, over time, make that equal, because there was no precedent,” he said. “When I started, I remember realizing that there were certain bars that I may not be welcome in, and that was true… If it was a fight, they knew I had a gun, and I remember the first time I went in there. They just stared at me and said ‘What is he doing in here?’ Do I have a right to be in there as an officer? Yes. However, I have to look at the social norms of understanding that am I going to be more of a deterrent or more of a problem by going in there?”

As a result, if individuals were fighting inside of a bar when they knew Dean was arriving, they were kicked out and fighting outside by the time he pulled up to the scene. One thing he learned was that in interactions with the public, he couldn’t be offended by what they said to him, even if he sometimes needed to consult the sheriff when someone wouldn’t want to talk to him due to the color of his skin. He’s also regularly been mistaken for the county’s other younger black deputy, Jon Rogers, despite a lack of physical resemblance between the two.

“I guess my thing is (that) it wasn’t the law of it, it was more perceptions were where my learning curve was. My favorite (aspect) is just the people,” Dean said. “I will probably always be a public servant. That’s what I believe God put me on this Earth to do. So, to be able to communicate with people and to be able to help them in their time of need. Sometimes, we’re not helpful, but being able to help them understand that, so to me, that’d probably be the biggest thing, and family.”

To this day, Dean still interacts with people he arrested years ago, and while they may regret what they said to him in the moment, they’ve grown to appreciate him over time. He also admitted that members of his own community — and even his mother — questioned his decision to enter law enforcement due to “socially rational” fears that he might be harmed before a white officer. Additionally, he hopes that members of the local African-American community now feel more comfortable approaching him whether he’s been on or off duty.

In reflecting on his retiring colleague’s career, Phillips touted Dean’s extensive outreach and event planning efforts to build the sense of community he felt so strongly about creating — describing him as a “bridge” between other county departments and the sheriff’s office. He was part of the MCSO’s recruitment team and had “the gift of gab,” as the sheriff put it.

“And a lot of it is, too, with DeMo and his growth, not being from the community, he embraced it. He would talk to people, and what was really interesting was, especially with his background and his personal experience, was that he would take the time to listen to people’s problems,” Phillips said. “A lot of what we do in law enforcement is just problem solving. They just want somebody to listen to them and help provide guidance and support. And I think DeMo did a really good job of that.”

In retirement, Dean plans to stay active with several of the philanthropic organizations he’s already involved in, including the upcoming RUCKus 4 Freedom H.E.R.O Ruck 5K and Freedom 5k Run/Walk on Saturday morning at the Iowa Veterans Home campus. He’s also deeply interested in Marshall and Tama County history and telling untold stories of African-Americans in the area dating back to 1852 with the intention of hosting a motorcycle punch card ride where participants will be encouraged to investigate all of the communities in the county.

“As we start looking at that, what does that impact look like? And (the goal is) being able to bring events that bring us together to exemplify those things,” he said. “I guess, for me, that’s what I’m looking to do is to continue bringing activities and awareness to my community.”

So it won’t all be fishing and golf for the now-retired deputy. Dean still has a lot of work left to do.

——

Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.