After 30-year law enforcement career, Daryl Loftis returned to GTCC to share his knowledge with future officers

“I’m mom, dad, counselor, disciplinarian … I have many different roles for my students. I’m their primary contact.”

When Daryl Loftis began classes at Guilford Technical Community College in the fall of 1989, he had his future mapped out. Two years at GTCC. Two years at a four-year school after GTCC. Then a career of teaching high school English.

These days, he occasionally teaches officers how to become instructors. But that’s the only thing that bears any resemblance to his early career plans of becoming a teacher. And he’s just fine with that because he had a whale of a career. And now, in a full circle move, he finds himself back at GTCC as the coordinator of the college’s basic law enforcement training (BLET) program.

“I came to GTCC in 1989 to transfer and become a high school English teacher. I was good at reading and writing, and it seemed like a good fit,” said Loftis, who transferred to the University of North Carolina Charlotte after two years at GTCC.

Loftis had to take an elective class his first semester at UNC Charlotte, and he picked introduction to criminal justice. He was immediately hooked.

“I had grown up playing competitive sports and a lot of the attraction (of criminal justice) was one, it wasn’t going to be boring and two, it would be an opportunity to be in a team-like atmosphere,” said Loftis. “And I had a really good instructor. He was a sworn law enforcement officer, and he told good stories.”

He switched his major to criminal justice but kept his love of reading and writing alive with a minor in English. After graduating from UNC Charlotte, Loftis had to take a six-month basic law enforcement program, which ironically is the same program he now coordinates the day-to-day operations of at GTCC.

When he completed that program at Rockingham Community College, he immediately stepped into a job with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, an agency he stayed with his entire 30-year law enforcement career.

Those 30 years with the Guilford County Sheriff’s force were all-inclusive, running the gamut of patrol officer to vice/narcotics sergeant and spotter for the drone team.

“I worked patrol for a number of years then was an assistant supervisor, then spent some time in vice narcotics (as a sergeant). I made supervisor (lieutenant) and then I went back to patrol,” where he was assistant district commander.

The 53-year-old Loftis spent 25 years on the agency’s SWAT team, where he was the sniper team leader.

“My role really varied over the years. There was a lot of patrol … I was a patrol officer and supervisor and then commander. I managed the agency budget for a while. I was commander of special operations. I had a love affair with special ops.”

Loftis was key in developing the Guilford County Sheriffs Office’s drone program and spent time working with the K-9 program.

The growth of the department’s drone program is a perfect example of how technology advanced during his 30 years of service.

“When I first got hired, I wasn’t even issued a take-home portable radio,” Loftis recalled. “Our goal every day was to get there before other folks, so you got a radio that worked. At some point we got a better radio system and then in-car computers were introduced. I’ve really seen it evolve. Law enforcement has been really accepting of new technology.”

He became a licensed law enforcement instructor in 2004, certified to teach several disciplines. Shortly after that he became an adjunct at GTCC. During that period, he taught mainly in the tactical EMS program training SWAT paramedics.

“Some of the classes I taught were some of the same ones that I had taken here,” said Loftis. “Then, believe it or not, I was asked to develop and implement writing for law enforcement … not just how to write, but a full English class.”

When Loftis stepped away from his law enforcement career, it was a natural for him to move into a fulltime role with GTCC. Since 2022, he has served as the BLET coordinator at the college.

“I’m mom, dad, counselor, disciplinarian … I have many different roles for my students. I’m their primary contact.”

Each BLET academy is a stand-alone program that runs 17 weeks and consists of roughly 680 hours of training. When the program is successfully completed, a student is eligible to take the written comprehensive state certification examination, a mandatory requirement to be employed as a police officer or deputy sheriff in North Carolina.

Loftis said each student in the BLET program must be at least 20 years old and either sponsored or already hired by a law enforcement agency.

The course, Loftis says, is demanding, both physically and mentally.

“If there is a shock factor (entering the program), it’s with how physical it is. The first week a physical assessment is done to get a starting point and then there is a physical agility test you have to pass at the end,” said Loftis.

The payoff for Loftis is the end product after 17 weeks of training in the BLET program.

“In addition to most everything else you learn, we want to make sure you walk away with leadership qualities you don’t find in a book,” said Loftis.

“It’s a very demanding program with a lot to learn in a short time. People don’t realize the depth and scope of what we teach, like constitutional law. It’s enjoyable to break that down and teach them, watch them graduate and move on to be good law enforcement officers.”

While he spends much of his time these days training future law enforcement officers, Loftis refuses to forget all of those who have worn the uniform. He volunteers as a crisis listener for a law enforcement officer hotline to help any that may be struggling.

“Mental health in this profession is tattered for many, and this is my way of giving back,” said Loftis, who is finishing up work on a master’s degree in PTSD and trauma counseling to help with his volunteer role. “I’m doing it to serve the profession that has served me and my family.”