INDIANAPOLIS — Some professions don't get a day off, because working on Thanksgiving is part of the job. Should your family need help, first responders are ready to answer the call.
WRTV stopped by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's Northwest District headquarters to see what officers were doing between their calls. It looked like a traditional Thanksgiving gathering. Officers were gathered around the table playing cards, laughing, and enjoying full plates of food.
We caught up with Officer Ashley Miller who has been on the job with IMPD for three years. Before she became an officer, Miller was a ballerina, but she said she wasn't being fulfilled.
"I wanted something that I felt like I had more of a purpose. It didn't actually make me happy," Miller said. "So being able to help people has always interested me. This just seemed like the right thing for me to do. Serve my community."
Serving her community is something Miller said she is happy to do, even if it means she has to step away from her family on a holiday.
"When we come into work, it's not like we are away from our families. We've created a whole new family. They may not be biological, but they are people that we trust that we get along with. We spend a lot of time with them. They've become family," she said.
Miller compared her job to a family gathering and said, "It's just like when you go to family gatherings. Everybody has something they bring to the table, or they put forth in thanksgiving. For us it's answering the call. We get to be out in the community so families get to interact with each other."
