ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
After graduating from high school in 2012, Arline Lizarraga went on to get her associate’s degree in criminal justice in California, and in 2018, she made her way to Southwest Kansas and was hired by the Seward County Sheriff’s office.
“I started working in the jail in 2020. I was a corrections officer for 10 months, and I became a deputy for the Seward County Sheriff’s office,” she said.
Lizarraga worked for about a year and a half as a deputy before being selected for sheriff’s office’s Critical Response Team. She would later work as a training officer for about a year and a half before applying for the position of sergeant.
Now, she is the first female sergeant in the history of the Seward County Sheriff’s office.
“When I started working downstairs, all the deputies were male deputies,” she said. “There were no females working for the sheriff’s office. When I got hired, they told me I was the first female deputy officer in 10, 15 years. I was the first female deputy in so many years.”
After Lizarraga was hired, the sheriff’s office hired four more females for its staff. She said though her new position will prove to be a challenge, she feels she is up to the test.
“I can take any challenge they can throw at me,” she said. “I’m ready for it. If I was the first female deputy, I can be the first female sergeant.”
Lizarraga’s family moved from California to Liberal to work at National Beef, and she said this is what brought her to Seward County.
“I couldn’t stay away from my family,” she said. “I had to come here and be with them.”
Lizarraga said there are many differences between Southern California and Southwest Kansas.
“It’s weather,” she said. “It’s the traffic. It’s food. Everything’s different. Nothing is the same over there. I was used to eating Mexican food all the time, and here, I have Latin foods from all over the place like Nicaragua, Cuba and everywhere.”
In particular, Lizarraga noticed the differences in climate between the two regions.
“We only have two weathers over there,” she said. “It’s hot, or it’s cold. There’s nothing in between. Here, we have all kinds of weather – tornadoes, rain, thunderstorms.”
Though her degree is in criminal justice, Lizarraga initially majored in psychology.
“I just changed my mind,” she said. “I couldn’t wrap my mind around being a psychologist. It was too much dealing with one type of people. I want to be in touch with all of the community.”
Seeing law enforcement at her school is what Lizarraga said changed her mind about her career.
“Some police went to the college,” she said. “They presented themselves, and they let us know what they’re doing with their roles. I was like I want to be that person. I never thought I was going to stay here longer than two years. I’m here for seven years.”
And Lizarraga feels as though she is in Southwest Kansas to stay for a while.
“I don’t think I’m going to go back to California,” she said.
As for her goals, Lizarraga said she wants to get back to the basics of law enforcement.
“I want to be a coach for the road staff,” she said.
Lizarraga also wants to instill confidence in her fellow law enforcement workers, something she said seemed to be missing in the past.
“You came here, and everybody was afraid to work for the sheriff’s office,” she said. “I want to go back to that and make them proud to work for the sheriff’s office.”
Like many in law enforcement, Lizarraga has to undergo training on a regular basis, and she said she likes to take advantage of any additional eduction she can.
“We have to do 40 hours of the basic training you have to do,” she said. “We have deputies who go just for one thing – drugs, DUIs, K-9s or investigations. In my training, I like to be a well-rounded officer. Sometimes, I go for mental health. Sometimes, I go for training for DUIs. Sometimes, I go for training for accidents or interviews. I like to take different trainings, not just go for one type of training.”
Lizarraga said no two days at the sheriff’s office are the same.
“Every day is different, and it’s a challenge to go across those traumas when you work them,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, and it’s a lot of support from my coworkers. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I would be able to go across the trauma. I have worked fatality accidents and shootings, dealing with kids, juveniles and old people.”
Lizarraga said she likes the team concept of law enforcement, and that is evident at the Seward County Sheriff’s office.
“I like to be surrounded by people who know me and know I care about them, and they do the same for me,” she said.
That teamwork is part of what Lizarraga said it takes to work in law enforcement.
“If you can’t care for somebody else, I don’t think you can work here,” she said. “You put your life at risk for somebody else. It takes a lot of you. It takes your time. It takes your family. It takes your holidays. It takes courage. If you don’t think you can be in front of taking a bullet for somebody else, you shouldn’t be working for law enforcement.”
Work in law enforcement is not just difficult for the individual, but also friends and family of that individual. Lizarraga said her family initially had a difficult time with her chosen career path, but that difficulty seems to lessen over time.
“Coming from the Mexican culture, they worry about their family a lot,” she said. “It was hard for my mom and my dad. It was a lot of ‘what if.’ What if something happens? What if you get into an accident? What if somebody wants to do something when you’re not working? They understand now. They got used to it. It’s not that they don’t care anymore. They got used to me being involved in all of it.”
Lizarraga likewise sees differences in attitudes toward law enforcement between California and Kansas.
“In California, I feel they don’t respect law enforcement,” she said. “Here, they do. The people get along with law enforcement. The culture over there and the culture here are different.”
Lizarraga said she is excited as she begins this latest chapter in her life.
“I’m here for the challenge, and I’m ready for everything that comes through that door,” she said.
