Episode 17 with Jay Lacayo (Police officer out of White Plains, New York)

OpsFitness Podcast

1. Tell me a little about yourself and how long have you or served on the front line for? In What capacity? My name is Jason Lacayo and I have been a police officer since 2005. I was born in the Bronx. Both my parents are immigrants from Honduras. Currently, I am assigned to the Emergency Services Unit in the City of White Plains. 2. What was the hardest time of your life? What tools did you use to get through it? The hardest time in my life was losing my grandmother in 2010. I just really turned to my faith in God to get through that time. 3. What are your greatest successes? My greatest Successes are graduating from the NYPD police academy. I was able to sit court level during my graduation and seeing my family smiling as I graduated was the most gratifying day of my life. 4. Now that you have experienced life a little, what would you tell your 20-year- old self? Well with the experience I have now I would just tell my 20-year-old self not to hurry and grow up so quick lol. In all seriousness, I would just cherish the moments I had with the loved ones that are no longer here. When ur young you take time for granted. I would just slow things down a bit and enjoy the moments more. 5. Who is your greatest role model and why? My father is my greatest role model. He’s a military veteran and was a correctional officer for 25 years on Rikers Island. He taught to be a man of respect and dignity. He also prepared me for the trials and tribulations life offers. He is a huge reason why I am in law enforcement. 6. Any particular stories that stand out from your days serving behind the front line? How has fitness played a role in it? I chased a burglar down on foot and upon apprehension, I had to use armbar to subdue the perp. 2 block chase and quick but very hard to try to remain calm and stay focused. 7. What is your favourite failure that has led to success? Losing in my junior high school championship game. Failure made me work harder off the court and perfect my craft. Defeat builds character. 8. What do you feel most proud of? My proudest moment is my father hugging me after my graduation from the police academy and telling me that he was very proud of me. He wasn’t a very emotional man so it meant a lot to me. 9. What do you want your tombstone to say? On my tombstone, I would love for it to say “Here is a man who served his God and loved his family and community and died protecting the honor of both” 10. How do you spend your free time? I spend my free time as a coach in a Crossfit gym. I also train high school students in strength and conditioning. 11. Who do you admire the most in life and why? The thing I admire the most about life is the fact that we are here to serve a higher purpose. So we need to live for that purpose and not for selfish reasons. To use the gifts that God has given us to be the humans we could possibly be 12. What are you most afraid of? The thing in life I am most afraid of is letting my family down. 13. What was your most embarrassing moment? My most embarrassing moments was in elementary school I was called up to the bored to solve a math problem and I tripped on my way up to the board and ripped my pants! Lol 14. If you could eliminate one weakness or limitation in your life what would it be and why? One weakness I wish I could eliminate is stubbornness. It hinders my progression and makes learning new things a bit of a task 15. What was your greatest failure and how did you overcome it? My greatest failure in life was not becoming a detective. It pushed me to become a SWAT officer in which I have truly found a love for. 16. What motivates you to succeed? My God and my family motivates me to succeed!