NEW ORLEANS — The blood of a jazz-trumpet great runs through the veins of Reginald Allen Koeller III, but he earns his living mastering the instruments of the New Orleans Police Department's SWAT team.
Koeller, a four-year police veteran, traces his career preference to his participation in the NOPD Explorers program for youngsters ages 12-18. Other childhood experiences included crowds and loud applause that accompanied performances by his grandfather, Reginald Allen Koeller Sr., who led the Preservation Hall Band for more than 15 years before his death in 2004.
Hundreds of times, the younger Koeller's ears took in the chords and progressions of "A Closer Walk With Thee." Hundreds of times he heard fans compliment the way his grandfather played at New Orleans nightclubs throughout the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Though it made him proud, Koeller, a New Orleans and Science Charter School student, was attracted to cop shows, cop movies and police procedural documentaries.
That was the life he starved for.
— Family opposes plan —
Koeller announced his plan to become a New Orleans police officer to his family and friends when he started high school at McDonogh 35.
They warned him: You don't want to be a cop. You want to be a lawyer, a doctor. Anything but a cop. Cops get little respect and even low pay, they said. The life isn't rewarding.
He understood where they were coming from. But, "the more they told me not to do it, the more I wanted to," Koeller said. "It was one of those things."
He found support for his dream from one person: Newman Robinson, a McDonogh 35 math instructor. Math was Koeller's worst subject, but Robinson rewarded his rigorous study efforts with hard-earned A's and B's.
Robinson knew he had to steer Koeller to a program run by like-minded individuals. Robinson approached Koeller, a junior at the time, one day after class and gave him the cell phone number of NOPD Patrolman John Dobard, who has run the NOPD Explorers program for the last dozen years.
"Reginald called so much he burned my phone up," Dobard said, laughing. "He was full of questions . . . He is still asking me questions about police work today."
— Exploring the police —
The NOPD Explorers program — which now meets Tuesdays after school at the NOPD's Academy at City Park Avenue — taught Koeller and his classmates laws that were most pertinent to their lives. They learned about the intricacies of assault, battery, theft, drug possession, weapons possession, rape and armed robbery in a classroom setting.
They learned the specifics behind the field sobriety tests traffic officers administer to suspected drunk drivers, and the methods of detectives in the rape and auto theft units.
In field settings, they accompanied police officers on church function details and learned the intricacies of fingerprinting by practicing with other children at fairs.
The program "provides children who don't understand the police an explanation about how and why we do things," Dobard said.
Koeller climbed a step above the typical Explorer. He approached guest speakers, field-trip hosts and anyone who "would take five minutes to talk to me" on even the most mundane aspects of life behind a badge. He amassed a network of cards and cell phone numbers belonging to patrolmen, homicide detectives and SWAT team members before he was a high school senior. He even met Richard Pennington, the superintendent at the time.
Koeller's networking paved the way for a dream opportunity — a volunteer administrative assistant job in the NOPD's 5th District, which patrols parts of the Faubourg Marigny, Bywater and 9th Ward.
There, officers in the field versed Koeller about state laws, city statutes and departmental regulations. He learned the code signals and their meanings by listening to the gravelly chatter of officers on the police radio.
He had a front row seat when detectives booked suspected criminals and escorted them into the holding cell. Some suspects hollered and wrestled about.
"I was still a good four years before I could even enter the academy," Koeller said. To him, the thrills were unparalleled.
The head start he created for himself in the Explorers program made police academy classes a breeze, Koeller said. He had a better idea of what was in store for his probation period and rookie year in the department than most of the other cadets he graduated with in 2004.
"You see a child wanting to become a doctor growing up and playing with medical equipment, talking to doctors and reading about doctors all the time," Dobard said. "Reginald did that with police equipment and cops."
— 'The best of the best' —
While the first few Explorers meetings were enough to transform Koeller into an NOPD groupie, it was the first SWAT presentation that forever changed his life.
Koeller's posture and speaking tone enlivened when he spoke about the first time he touched a battering ram, hid behind a riot shield and strapped on a tactical helmet.
It did to him what holding a trumpet did to his grandfather.
The NOPD approved Koeller's transfer to the SWAT team in 2008. His first call was one that readers, listeners and viewers the entire world over heard about.
Koeller, in full tactical gear, patrolled the perimeter of 7100 Louisville St. as officers negotiated for hours with Eric Minshew, 49, a mentally ill Lakeview man who holed up in a gutted home after pulling a gun on two FEMA employees trying to reclaim the trailer he was living in.
After negotiations stalled, police fired tear gas canisters at him. They tried to subdue him with canines. Finally, NOPD officers killed Minshew during an exchange of gunfire that broke out after one of the many times they tried to apprehend him.
The daylong episode saddened and exhausted Koeller. He slept through all of the media coverage when he went home after work that day, he said.
When he woke up, he realized he was working with "the best of the best," he said.
"That's the sole reason I joined this department," Koeller said.
Everyone will continue to remember the grandfather for what he did with brass. The grandson, meanwhile, plans to spend the coming decades ensuring everyone remembers his exploration expedition with the top cops in black and blue.
For more information about how to apply to become an NOPD Explorer, call the Crime Prevention Office at 504.658.5590 and ask for John Dobard.
