Cass County Sheriff Jeff Weber recognized Det. Cpl. Steve Catron Friday at a retirement ceremony in Harrisonville.
Catron began his law enforcement career in 1992, 29 years ago. His interest in law enforcement began when he was on the Urich City Council as the police commissioner. He began doing ride-alongs with the current chief due to questions and concerns from the residents and decided he could serve his community best by attending the academy and becoming a law enforcement officer.
At that time, the academy was 120 hours. He attended a few nights a week as well as some Saturdays and the course-work consisted of mostly classroom training and the range.
Catron’s first law enforcement job was a reserve deputy for the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. Shortly afterward, he became the Urich Chief of Police where he served for four years. His first patrol car was a 1985 Dodge Diplomat that had been retired from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the first gun he carried as a law enforcement officer was a first-generation Glock Model 23.
Catron returned to the Henry County Sheriff’s office in 1997 where he served in several positions from patrol deputy all, eventually earning the rank of major. During his time in Henry County, he oversaw investigations, patrol, narcotics and evidence. He was also a sniper for the tactical team.
In February 2005, Catron went to work for the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. He spent his first year as a patrol deputy and then moved to the investigations unit. He is currently a CVSA operator and specializes in property crimes investigations. He has worked with multiple city, county, state and federal agencies on several multi-jurisdictional cases and has recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property and equipment.
Throughout his career, Catron has served on the Metro Squad, Rural Missouri Major Case Squad, MOKAN Heavy Equipment Task Force and the Henry County Tactical Unit.
Catron’s advice for incoming law enforcement is “knowledge is everything. Finding connections and sharing knowledge will take you far.” He said, “Knowledge comes from building trust, respect and working together.”
He also said he gained his knowledge by learning from older deputies and troopers where he built relationships, opportunities and connections.
Catron has made well over 500 contacts during his law enforcement career and suggests that you “seek out the Wooly Mammoth’s before they are all gone, for the Wooly Mammoth will provide the knowledge, protection and guidance that will help take you home after every shift throughout your career.”
