For my older sister as a child to unhesitatingly say, “To be a doctor” whenever she was asked what she wanted to be, was surprising to me. It was almost a pre-programmed robotic response. How she divined what she would become as an adult puzzled me. But, remarkably, she did become a doctor, as did her three daughters.

Kids have dreams and ideas of what they want to become someday. And when those dreams do happen, in one form or another, they become the subject of wonderful stories endlessly told and re-told among family and friends.

But for Joseph Zantua, it is difficult to assume that he acted the same way as a child as my sister did. For sure, as a schoolboy at St. Peter’s Academy in Polangui, Albay, Philippines, 8,532 miles from New York City, there was no way he could have said, “I will be an NYPD police officer and will retire as the second-highest ranking NYPD detective.” But he did not have to dream to become an NYPD police officer, for he did become exactly that, and a decorated and celebrated one to boot.

Jojo, as his family and friends call him, is a full-blooded Bicolano, having been born to Bicolano parents, Dr. Jose Zantua of Naga City and Inez Sapalicio of Polangui, Albay. Although he was born in Manila, he spent his childhood in Polangui where the family eventually settled. From St. Peter’s Academy, he went on to Divine Word High School in Legaspi City.

He earned his Fine Arts degree from the University of Santo Tomas. After graduation in 1980, he obtained a US F1 visa (student visa) through an exchange-student organization in Manila. It was not surprising that the young Jojo from a developing country would set out into the world to seek his fortune. Nor was it by chance that he would eventually land himself a job in an Art Gallery in the Soho district, New York City’s center for Arts and Culture. After all, he had a Fine Arts degree under his belt.

But in 1985, his career took a completely different turn. He decided to join the United States Navy. Think of what he had to chuck in personal perspective, with the necessary transformation that comes with moving from the realm of fine arts to a tough life of soldiery. He spent some six years as an enlisted man in the US Navy system.  In 1991, he bowed out from military service with an Honorable Discharge and a certificate “as a testimonial of Honest and Faithful Service” to the United States Navy.

Shortly after, he joined the New York City Police Department (NYPD). With his military experience, going into the police force no longer looked out of character for him. A guy has to be tough to choose the kind of work that deals with law enforcement, confronting suspected lawbreakers, and pursuing outright criminals. The job is not for the faint-hearted. And Jojo is one tough guy.

There are 16 qualities and skills that an aspiring police officer must possess before being admitted to the force: 1. Physical fitness, 2. Critical thinking, 3. Sound judgment, 4. Problem-solving skills, 5. Communication skills, 6. Interpersonal skills, 7. Strong moral character, 8. Sense of ethics, 9.  Compassion, empathy, and respect for others, 10. Devotion to the community, 11. Strong initiative and perseverance, 12. Ability to negotiate and rationalize, 13. Even temper and composure in stressful situations, 14. Patience and tolerance, 15. Mental and physical agility, and 16. Teamwork. (Goodwin University, Police Officers Qualities and Skills).

As if those qualities and skills were not enough, one must pass the Job Standard Test  (JST).   The JST includes: sprinting 50 feet and surmounting a barrier; climbing stairs; demonstrating the ability to physically restrain someone; running in pursuit; dragging a 176-pound mannequin 35 feet to simulate a rescue; and the Trigger Pull. The candidate proceeds from Victim Rescue to a trigger-pull station, picks up an inoperative firearm, holds the firearm within a nine-inch diameter metal ring, and pulls the trigger 16 times with the dominant hand and 15 times with the non-dominant hand. Once inserted, the firearm must remain within the metal ring for the completion of the trigger pull cycle. Timing is stopped upon completion of the final trigger pull.  Candidates must finish this continuous physical test in not more than 4 minutes and 28 seconds to pass.

Needless to say, Jojo qualified and became an active NYPD officer in 1991.

In October 1994, his star started to shine on the job. He was accorded the “Police of the Month Award for Manhattan and the Bronx” for March 1994 “for his outstanding performance, devotion to public welfare, dedication to duty and professional ideals”, as the citation eloquently stated.

Not long after, it was followed by another award, “in recognition of your dedication, superior achievement, and outstanding services to the New York City Police Department and to the City of New York”. The award came with his designation as “Detective Specialist.”  Within the few years that followed, he was moved to the Applicant Processing Division. It came as no surprise that on December 9, 2004, he was awarded a Certificate of Promotion, “in recognition of your dedicated service to the City of New York, to its citizens, and to a grateful Applicant Processing Division of the NYPD”.

But he was not spared real police action when he singlehandedly arrested a bank robber whom he caught while the crime was in progress. It may as well have been a gripping scene from an exciting TV series like “Law and Order,” except that it was a real live event that happened for Jojo. The feat gained him prominence in all the NY presses and earned him television coverage in a nationally-syndicated TV show under its “Good Samaritan Tough Target” segment. The recognition was memorialized in a Certificate of Appreciation he received from the City of New York “ for his valiant participation in the arrest of an armed assailant and for ensuring that immediate help arrived for the seriously wounded victim. He exhibited true heroism in the performance of his duty.”  No less than Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani posed for a photo opportunity with local hero Jojo for posterity.

In 2012, after 20 years of active and colorful service with the NYPD, Jojo retired from the police force – not too shabby for a small-town kid from Polangui, Albay who took up an innocuous college course in Fine Arts and ended up ably handling a man-sized job in the legendary Batman’s Gotham City, USA. Jojo is larger than life for the remarkable feats he accomplished as a Police Officer in the capital city of the world.

Through it all, Jojo remains quiet and unassuming, and self-effacing. With good-natured humor, he smilingly told me, “Don’t be taken in too much by my story. A ‘hero’ is just a sandwich.”

(Featured image of NYPD officer in uniform: NBC New York)