Recognizing Patrolman Austin Cullum

By Jennifer Webb

Photos by Searcy Living Photography

There’s something special about a dog, and Austin Cullum had always dreamed of being able to take his dog to work with him.

“Who doesn’t want to go to work with your dog every day? I’m a dog person. I love dogs and have always had a dog. I want to get outside and serve the community in whatever way I can. To do that with my best friend by my side, what gets better than that?”

-Patrolman Austin Cullum, 2024 Officer of the Year & Searcy’s First K-9 Officer

He asked about it when he started with the Searcy Police Department in 2021 but was told that the city did not have a K-9 unit at that time. So, he set that dream aside and concentrated on what was in front of him.

Austin graduated from White County Central High School in 2017. After working in fast food, he landed a job at Land O’Frost in the maintenance division. He took classes at ASU-Searcy through their technical program and got a technical certification to add to his associate degree in powersports, which concentrates on repairing small engines.

He worked 2nd shift in the maintenance division, but by 2020, he longed to be outside and see the sun while he worked. Austin had some friends who worked with the Arkansas State Police and other areas of law enforcement; he had tremendous respect for them. Maybe a career change to law enforcement was what he needed. He put his first application in at Searcy in 2020 but did not hear anything back.

When 2021 rolled around, he felt the call even more strongly. He learned that he could put applications in more frequently, so in the first half of 2021, he put in four or five applications. Still, he did not hear back.

Austin talked to everyone he could think of; he made phone calls and stubbornly kept putting in applications. He didn’t hear anything until October. When he went in for the interview, the department hired him on the spot after the post-interview drug test and physical evaluation. It was just in time, too!

Austin married his wife, Sarah Cullum, on October 23, 2021. He had time for a honeymoon before he started to work as a Searcy Police Officer. During his interview, he asked about two things - SRT (Special Response Team - much like the Searcy Police’s version of a SWAT Team) and becoming a K-9 officer. Since he was told that Searcy did not have K-9 officers, he decided to focus on learning all he could with the goal of becoming an SRT officer.

Austin had a few months of training on the job with Searcy Police Department before he went to the Police Academy at Camp Robinson from January 2022-April 2022. Then he began his field training to become a police officer. He discovered that he had a passion for helping with drug addiction.

“If someone is battling an addiction, you can be there for them, but at the end of the day, it’s up to time. They have to have the drive and the desire to help themselves. The one thing I can do for them is eliminate the availability of drugs on the streets.”

-Patrolman Austin Cullum, 2024 Officer of the Year & Searcy’s First K-9 Officer

His drive and focus on getting drugs off the streets continued, and he achieved his first goal of joining SRT in the summer of 2023. Then he took another step toward the goal that he thought might never happen.

Chief Hernandez called Officer Cullum to his office, telling him to put together a proposal for a K-9 team. Austin was thrilled and poured time and effort into crafting his proposal. He knew the Chief would have to go before the city council and get the K-9 team approved. Officer Cullum did not hear anything else on the proposed K-9 Team until mid 2024 when he and the Chief spoke about it again.

The Searcy City Council approved the K-9 team in late 2024, making Officer Austin Cullum the first Searcy police officer to have a trained K-9. Officer Cullum’s K-9 will be the 6th trained police dog in White County.

“Dogs can do things that I can’t and can help in ways that no human can. With their superior sense of smell, they can track a person by smelling the disturbances and scents on the ground. When it comes to drugs, they can track those better than any human. He will also be trained in defense.”

-Patrolman Austin Cullum, 2024 Officer of the Year & Searcy’s First K-9 Officer

Officer Cullum’s K-9 companion will be an approximately one-year-old male German Shepard from Czechia. Both Officer Cullum and his K-9 partner will have to undergo training, both separately and together.

Officer Cullum is excited to start the K-9 program at the Searcy Police Department with his dog, Havoc. He hopes the K-9 program will expand, and he can merge his roles with the K-9 Unit and the SRT. Ideally, he would like to see the program grow to the point where they can have a K-9 for each shift, meaning a dog available 24/7.

Havoc will be 100% Officer Culllum’s responsibility and will go home with him. The dog will be trained in multiple areas, including advanced obedience and manners for public relations, as well as defense, tracking, drug recognition, and criminal apprehension.

“God continues to open doors for me and allows me to go down certain paths. I’m very excited to see where that goes!”

- Patrolman Austin Cullum, 2024 Officer of the Year & Searcy’s First K-9 Officer

“Each day, millions of police officers do the selfless work of putting their lives on the line to protect civilians, frequently responding to or preventing crises completely with no recognition.”

~ L. James

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