Radio shock jock Doug "Greaseman" Tracht makes a living riling people up. His morning show on WARW-FM is full of jokes about women, minority group members and bodily fluids that his fans find hilarious and others find offensive.
So what's he doing for a second job? Keeping the peace.
Yesterday, Tracht reported for his first day of duty as a volunteer sheriff's deputy in Falls Church. He wears a uniform. He checks people entering the courthouse for arms, guards courtrooms and helps transport prisoners. He carries a gun -- a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol.
Some of his critics say they are outraged.
"Someone who is so insulting to African Americans should not be carrying a gun and transporting prisoners, many [of whom] are African Americans," said Victor Dunbar, president of the Fairfax County branch of the NAACP. He called Tracht's show "despicable."
But Falls Church Sheriff S.S. "Steve" Bittle argues that Tracht is a good choice and that volunteers are sorely needed by his department, which has three full-time and three part-time paid deputies and 12 volunteers.
"What he does on the radio is his business. I hired Doug Tracht," said Bittle, adding that he has known Tracht for nine years and did a criminal check before accepting him. "I'm glad to have him."
Falls Church volunteers are usually paired with a paid deputy, go through an orientation period and attend relevant classes at the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy when they are offered, he said. Volunteers pay for their uniforms and equipment, including handcuffs and a gun. Virginia does not require gun permits for sworn deputies, Bittle said.
Most area police and sheriff's departments do not have volunteers with guns, although some have unarmed auxiliaries. However, the D.C. police, the Prince William sheriff's office and a few other departments arm at least some unpaid reserves after they attend a training program.
This isn't the first time Tracht, 46, has been involved in law enforcement. He said in an interview that he served as a volunteer sheriff for two counties in Florida in the late 1970s while he was working for a Jacksonville radio station.
Tracht said he considered both careers. "I really liked law enforcement, but I realized that I'm pretty good at radio," he said. By volunteering, "maybe I can do both."
Tracht said that before he moved to Los Angeles for a four-year stint, he got to know Bittle, then a Falls Church police officer. When he returned to the Washington area and took the job at 94.7 FM, he contacted his old friend -- who was by then the elected sheriff -- about volunteering. Tracht said he turned to Bittle because the police in Montgomery, where he lives, don't have armed reserve officers. He said he hopes to volunteer once a week.
Tracht's jokes about women and minority group members have long been controversial -- a 1986 joke about Martin Luther King Jr. Day sparked protests outside the station where he worked. But he said, "I don't think the radio persona gets in the way. As a police officer, you treat everybody equally.
"I'm a comedian, not a policymaker. If I tell a joke and one backfires, that has nothing to do with my integrity or morality as a police officer."
But Phil Hannum, who is running against Bittle for sheriff, said Tracht's notorious on-air personality could interfere with his ability to do the job. "Celebrities and law enforcement have not traditionally been seen as a good idea," the independent candidate said. "The public expects law enforcement to be serious. The Greaseman is not an appropriate choice."
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