In recent months, Lawrence Police Officer Mik Shanks has pulled a hand grenade from the pocket of a murder victim, heard daily bursts of AK-47 fire and helped shut down a dozen houses of prostitution.
But Shanks isn't on patrol in Lawrence. Since December, he's been on temporary leave from the city, working for the U.S. State Department as a police officer in Kosovo, a province in Serbia-Montenegro.
The nation-building effort, he said, is like teaching a person to ride a bicycle.
"When we let go, the bike kind of wobbles back and forth. Once in a while they do OK. Sometimes they go ahead for a little while, then they fall over," he wrote by e-mail. "We are there to scrape off their knees and get them back on the bicycle again."
Shanks, 40, is one of about 2,600 civilian officers from 48 countries involved in a United Nations mission to provide basic services in the war-torn province and help it move toward autonomy within Serbia.
It's not military service. Instead, officers are hired by a private company working with the State Department and sign a one-year contract to work in Kosovo for a salary above what officers typically earn in the United States.
'More experience'
Shanks, 40, who is single with no children, has been a Lawrence police officer since 1991. He said he decided to go to Kosovo for the experience and adventure.
Lawrence Police Officer Mik Shanks, above, has been working for the U.S. State Department in Kosovo since November. He is serving as one of four operations commanders for the Peje region in the war-torn province of Serbia-Montenegro.
"In mid-career, I ran across this opportunity and decided it would be a great life and career experience," he said.
The city normally provides up to six months' leave of absence for employees. But Shanks received a special exception from the city to work in Kosovo for a year.
Police Chief Ron Olin said he approved Shanks' leave because he thought it would be good for Lawrence's force in the long run.
"We believed that Mik would return a better officer and with more experience," he said.
In addition to providing temporary law enforcement, Shanks and his counterparts are charged with helping build a more "professional, impartial and independent" police force in Kosovo.
Shanks began his Kosovo stint by working as a patrol officer - writing tickets, doing car stops, investigating robberies - but was promoted to be one of four operations commanders for the Peje region, which he likens to a county with five large cities. He oversees day-to-day operations of the fledgling Kosovo Police Service and supervises the international officers.
Shanks said he's suffered culture shock at times.
Once, he and another officer were called to free a bear that was caught in a wire in a nearby village. Another time, Shanks went to a basketball game where fans were chanting to break one of the opposing players' legs. On the way out of town, fans threw rocks at the visiting team's bus.
'Coffee houses'
After initially being excited to see a large number of "coffee houses" in the city, he learned they were houses of prostitution and helped shut them down, he said.
AK-47 assault rifles are commonly fired into the air, but mostly in celebration, he said.
At 6 feet 5 inches, Shanks, is taller than most Kosovars. He's earned the nickname "Big Mik" and at one point had to scrap his plans to go skiing because there were no size 13 boots.
Shanks has been keeping colleagues in the United States updated on his exploits in a series of letters, which he gives titles such as "Misplaced Kansan in Kosovo."
But despite the misadventures, he said he's confident he'll return with leadership experiences that will benefit Lawrence.
"I am very proud of the work that we are doing here," he said. "I think it is very important, and I personally am assuming because I have been put in a position of command, that they think I have been doing a good job."
Comments
LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.