Meet Corporal Anthony Montrose (Smyrna Police Department): "Smyrna suits me just fine."

Celebrate Corporal Anthony Montrose and other Smyrna police, fire, and public safety heroes at the 3rd Annual Smyrna Heroes Gala (formerly Smyrna Auction for Heroes Gala) on Sept. 8 at historic Brawner Hall on Atlanta Road, 7:00 - 11:00 pm. Mingle with our heroes, city officials, area businesses and residents, and your neighborhoods and enjoy live entertainment, gourmet food and tasty drinks. Proceeds benefit the Smyrna Public Safety Foundation (SPSF), which raises funds to support Smyrna's Fire and Police Departments as well as the community at large. Tickets and additional information about the Gala at http://www.smyrnaheroesgala.com/. Meanwhile, meet one of Smyrna's heroes, Corporal Montrose:

“Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a police officer,” reported Anthony Montrose of the SPD.  “I just couldn’t see myself in a cubicle.”  He couldn’t face “the same thing everyday”; instead it’s the unknown that attracts him, the potential for something different happening every day.  “I don’t like the mundane,” he commented.  And rather than being cooped up in an office, he prefers being outside.  “The heat, the cold, they don’t bother me,” he said, adding, after a pause, “Well, the rain does.”

As a corporal with the SPD, Montrose “looks after the younger guys.”  SPD supervisors rely on the corporals to monitor and direct critical situations, calling the detectives out and keeping their fingers on the pulse of the SPD.  

“The training never stops,” Montrose said.  “Things are changing all the time; there’s new case law” that requires rethinking current police policies and considering new ones.  Just about every factor that affects the law, can affect the SPD, Montrose observed, all the way from Supreme Court decisions to interdepartmental SPD guidelines. 

A 20-year veteran, Montrose has been with the SPD 17 years.  His previous training includes 11 years in the army military police, with missions in both Greece and Germany, locations that spurred his interest in travel.  Before Montrose came to the SPD, he was also 3 years with the MARTA force, but decided “that wasn’t the kind of policing I wanted to do.”  Smyrna suits him just right, he observed.

Montrose likes his solitude to unwind.  His policy on his down time? “Don’t bring the job home; you have to get away from it.”  He reads avidly, bikes on the Silver Comet trail, watches television, goes to the movies, travels.  “I deal with people all day,” he reported, “so I like to spend time with myself.”

Thank you, Corporal Montrose, for being a part of our community.

The Smyrna Public Safety Foundation Heroes Gala is Saturday, Sept. 8. Come out and show your support for the brave men and women who keep Smyrna safe. Visit the Smyrna Heroes Gala website and Facebook page for ticket information plus more hero profiles.

Read about other public safety heroes: