When the daily ups and downs of the telecom industry get a little hectic, W. Lange And Company Inc.’s Joe Gomez forgoes gardening, the golf course and the gym for what he says is some real stress relief — hunting criminals, dodging bullets and joining in on high-speed pursuits.
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| Joe with wife, Angelica, and daughter, Natalia Grace |
After 10 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Joe moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to serve as an adviser to the U.S. government intelligence community. He naturally fell into reserve police work after working as a security police supervisor providing protection to the nuclear bomb forces in the Air Force. “After hanging up my uniform from my military service, I still felt the need to serve my community and my country,” explained Joe, who is now a 19-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department.
As a reserve police officer, Joe performs all the same duties as a full-time officer, and by virtue of his training, he is also a California Peace Officer, with powers of arrest and ability to carry a loaded and concealed firearm while off duty. Additionally, Joe is one of the Bike Patrol Squad Leaders for the West Traffic Division Reserve Unit, working at least two weekends every month.
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| Joe (left) and fellow SWAT team members on “Shark” |
And now, thanks to running into an old friend at a training course, Joe isn’t just a policeman, he also plays one on TV. His friend’s wife had formed a production company, called SWAT4Hire, to provide talent and technical advising services to the TV and movie industries. The company had landed its first big contract for the hit series "24." Joe auditioned for the SWAT Team for the show, and then became the No. 2 man on the show's Counter Terrorism SWAT Team.
