Dubliners may see a fresh face with a familiar name on patrol as Lane Coates started duty as a Dublin Police Officer last week.
The 21-year-old son of Erath County Sheriff Matt Coates, Lane admits that he didn’t always know law enforcement was right for him.
“I originally thought about being a diesel mechanic,” Coates said.
This plan carried through his graduation from Joshua in Johnson County after which he went to work at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport for one-and-a-half years. He toured a college for mechanics and realized that might not be the right career for him.
It was then that he thought about law enforcement and the positive influence his father and other officers had on him growing up.
“I remember seeing everything Dad did while I was growing up,” Coates said, adding that he often helped the sheriff get all of his equipment together while Matt was getting ready for work.
Coates graduated from the Weatherford College Law Enforcement Academy on June 26 as the youngest in his class. Sheriff Coates congratulated his son in a Facebook post, writing that he was “proud and scared to death at the same time.”
Lane was sworn into Dublin PD three days later on Tuesday, June 29.
The Coates family moved into the area from Big Spring when Lane was in 8th grade. “It’s a lot nicer,” Lane said of Erath County in comparison to Big Spring. “There’s actually some grass.”
When asked what he thought of Dublin, Lane said he likes the town and that it’s “easier to get to know people” than other areas.
The new officer said he is also enjoying getting to know the fellow officers in Dublin PD and that he had already heard a lot of good things about Chief Cameron Ray from Sheriff Coates based on their time working together.
“I think it’s important to support [local law enforcement],” said Lane. “They’re here to help you, not just enforce laws and tell you what to do.”
Lane said he’s given some thought to pursuing a position in SWAT eventually, but is mainly excited about just getting out on patrol for now.