(By DALTON SARGENT)

“You sure do look familiar.”

Five simple words that can often convey a calming kind of comfort. But that comfort is absent when those words come from the inquiring tongue of a city’s premier drug dealer, and you’re an undercover officer in his home with no weapon to defend yourself.

While such an experience usually never arises for the average person, retired police officer Charles Sargent was far from average during his time on duty.

“I was just happy to get out of there alive,” Sargent says.

The sting operation ended with a safe departure and a story worth telling for decades to come. Sargent’s career as an officer, however, began long before his daunting encounter with the Florida drug boss.

Discussing his inspiration to pursue the profession, the League City resident mentioned how as a young boy his father was involved in part-time law enforcement work, acting as a constable in Collin County, Texas.

“I was just accustomed to it,” he says. “It was so neat to hear the stories and be around that.”

Sargent’s interest in the work grew as he did, culminating with him eventually moving to Florida, where friends recommended that he commit to the idea and join the academy, as he found joy in the prospect of police work.

“The more I thought about it, the more I thought I would really enjoy the job – you know, helping people, truly making a difference, and making a city safe.”

Applying to the Fort Myers Police Department, Sargent performed exceedingly well on the entrance exam, as if it came naturally. Physical, operational, and firearms training followed soon after, with the pattern of proficiency remaining throughout the process for the then 23-year-old.

By June of 1990, Sargent was a full-fledged officer. He was one of 12 graduates who went on to work in Fort Myers, and he hit the ground running with his first assignment being to the public housing unit.

“I saw action right away – the projects just tended to be where there was more violence and activity, and those who committed crimes usually ended up there,” he says.

Both the work ethic and skill as an officer displayed by Sargent during his early years secured him a position on one of the most arduous units of the department, the Tactical Response Team, more commonly known as the SWAT Team. The lasting effect of which was undeniable.

“It was probably the most impactful element of my law enforcement career from a psyche perspective,” Sargent says.

Sargent remained a member of the TRT for the rest of his roughly nine years as an officer, even as he adapted to the next phase of his career that involved undercover functions.

While part of a Drug Enforcement Agency task force, he developed a strong familiarity with narcotics operations. When given the opportunity to test for undercover work, he once again performed exceedingly well.

During his tenure as an undercover agent, a somewhat matured Sargent was assigned to complex, multi-agency, and occasionally international undertakings, all while still being an active member of the TRT.

“I knew most of the people, and just wanted to take the bad ones to jail.”

While Sargent took great pride in his work as a “Narc” (as they were colloquially called), it was this covert work that ultimately convinced him to retire from the force. The suspect in one of his final assignments was the man to do the convincing.

“He said once he finds out who the officer was, he’d have him killed. And that just kind of woke me up a bit.”

Additionally, the questionable salary, his love for his first son, and the desire to be a good and able provider were all contributing factors toward his decision to end his time with the colleagues he respected and cared for dearly.

As he reflects on his experiences, Sargent finds that the most important thing he learned from his career in the field was the importance of relationships. Further, the importance of one’s ability to work with people from all facets of life.

“You’re dealing with people in the worst situations, so I learned how to help people – to help understand any situation.”

Discussing what he would’ve potentially done differently, Sargent recalled distant thoughts of wishing he had spent more time on the force but focused primarily on how he could have embraced more of the knowledge offered.

“I’m proud of the job I did, but I guess you can just always learn more. I miss the job, and it meant a lot to me – it really formed who I am.”

Sheri Sargent, his wife, shares the same pride in the work done by her husband, but is grateful for the solace she can take in knowing his life is no longer on the line.

“I’m extremely proud of his prior service as a police officer and his dedication to protecting the community, but I’m glad he’s no longer subject to something so dangerous and scary,” she says.

These days Sargent works for Valvoline, managing sales within a vast region of the country and continuing to take pride in the work he does.

He can be found on Galveston Bay most weekends, fishing and appreciating the boat he worked hard for, his past having given him a particular joy for life that can only be acquired when faced with the danger of possibly never being able to feel that joy again.

“I often miss it. But I wouldn’t give up what I have for anything in the world,” he said. “Time spent doing what I love with who I love most.”

Editor’s note: Charles Sargent is the father of the ACC Star’s Dalton Sargent.