Turned off by hard physical labor, a young Dennis McCoy enrolled in community college in the late 1960s.

He thought law enforcement looked interesting and in 1969 he joined the Seattle Police Department as a cadet. He was only 19 years old.

For 42 years and two months McCoy wore his uniform proudly, but now he has hung up his badge in exchange for a peaceful retirement in a quiet small town in Oregon.

"I'm happy to leave the city of Seattle. Sad to leave my buddies and friends at the Department," McCoy said at a retirement celebration with his large family at Crown Hill's Patty's Eggnest.

A family man, McCoy has ten kids - "some natural, some adopted," he said.

The way he takes care of his family is not unlike the way he took care of his fellow officers.

"It's always been my mission to take care of my troops and keep them safe," McCoy said.

Over the years McCoy moved up the ranks to Sergeant and worked as a patrol officer, SWAT member, Harbor Patrol, and Traffic Sergeant.

"Patrol was my favorite. To work in uniform is all I ever wanted to do," McCoy said.

But after spending the majority of his 42 years on patrol, McCoy feels that he has seen everything there is to see about the city and its people and is happy to leave.

"Because cops have daily interactions with people of questionable character, it's a natural occurrence with time for cops [to lose faith in," McCoy said.

But as he looks back on his long career, it's the positive interactions he likes to remember.

"Sure, I have had my share of violent incidents but it's those personal things that really make a difference," he said.

McCoy recalled an instance seven years ago when he stopped by an Aurora Avenue drugstore while off-duty and a woman approached him.

"She recognized me because years ago I had brought home her 14-year-old daughter," he said. "She was heading down a bad path but the woman said I turned her around."

The daughter, now in her thirties, has been living a straight life ever since.

"It so impressed on me the positive impact a police officer can have on a person's life," McCoy said. "That truly was the highlight of my career."

Other locals will remember McCoy for his way of dealing with young delinquents.

"Back in the day, when times were different, I'd make them write essays for punishment," McCoy said. "They hated nothing more than school work. Today you couldn't do such a thing."

There are a lot of things officers can't do anymore and that's why McCoy has grown disenchanted with the Seattle Police Department and the many policies and procedures that have been enacted in recent years.

"The ability for a street cop to get his job done has deteriorated due to policies and procedures," McCoy said. "And it's getting police officers hurt."

"We have a police administration that responds to the complaints from only a certain sector of society - those with habitual interaction with the police force. Those with criminal records," McCoy continued. "These procedures are a media-frenzy response to infrequent, isolated incidents."

McCoy said the sensationalization by the media is creating a negative perception of the police force.

"Folks don't realize and appreciate the function cops have in everyday life," he said. "We want the 99 percent of good citizens to like us but that one percent of criminals should fear us. We have a very strong criminal presence in the city but all we ever talk about is criminal justice. Instead, we should be talking about criminal punishment."

McCoy said he's glad to leave the city for a quiet small town but will continue to carry his gun and protect his family like a sheepdog protects his herd from wolves.

"I will never give up that mentality," McCoy said. "I will always be a sheepdog."