‘CHiPS’ Star Erik Estrada Gets Sworn In As A Real Police Officer In Idaho
Erik Estrada made fiction television a reality when he was sworn in as a police officer for the St. Anthony Police Department in Idaho. Known for his role as Officer Poncherello in the 1970s tv show CHiPS, Estrada stood proudly in his uniform and took his oath to act as a reserve officer on July 2.
According to local Idaho television station KPVI, residents shouldn’t be hopeful that Erik will be pulling them over on his police motorcycle, however, because Estrada is actually working with St. Anthony’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time Estrada has lived out his CHiPS role in real life. Erik has been a sworn reserve officer for Muncie, Indiana, and a deputy sheriff in Virginia according to ABC News. In fact, it’s Erik’s experience in Bedford County, Virginia that Estrada would use to explain why at 67-years-old he was pinning on the badge once again.
Erik addressed the need to educate children on the dangers of the internet with CBS News back in 2008 when he teamed up with Internet Crimes Against Children after witnessing child pornography:
“I am an investigator with ICAT (Internet Crimes Against Children) because I saw child porn and I went out of my mind and I said that something has to be done,” Estrada said at the time.
St. Anthony is happy to have someone with Erik’s experience on their task force, and Estrada is thrilled to be able to help a rural area that might have otherwise been overlooked.
“It’s a small community and they have a need for what we want to do and they will allow us to do it and with their help we can do it,” Estrada stated.
Shortly after being sworn in, Erik took to his Twitter account to share his joy with being a reserve officer for St. Anthony.
OK fnf’s I’m now a police officer with the ST ANTHONY POLICE DEPT. pic.twitter.com/aAvG4l7SSf
— ERIK ESTRADA (@ErikEstrada) July 2, 2016
While Estrada states he always wanted to be a police officer while he was growing up, Erik delved into acting for many years before landing the pivotal role that would change his life.
At 27, Estrada became a pop culture icon in the late 70s and early 80s for his role on the popular television drama CHiPS. Estrada co-starred with Larry Wilcox with the duo playing California Highway Patrol officers. CHiPS lasted for six seasons.
A movie based on CHiPS starring Michael Pena and Dax Shepard is set to hit theaters next year. Undoubtedly, CHiPS fans are hoping that the movie will take note from the highly successful 21 Jump Street flick and let the actors who originated the roles of Officers Poncherello and Baker (Estrada and Wilcox) come back for cameos in the film.
While Erik Estrada’s acting career has spanned more than four decades, the actor has used his fame and success as a platform to help him do things to improve the community around him. In 2000, Estrada was named the international face of the D.A.R.E. program and has been active in public service announcements regarding texting and driving, drinking and driving, and proper car seat installation. Estrada is also a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol 11-99 program which provides scholarships and benefits to the families of fallen CHP officers.
Though being a reserve officer doesn’t require a huge time commitment, Estrada went from his swearing in for St. Anthony to visit with residents at South Fremont High School and hung around the town until Monday. Erik will reportedly return in September after school starts to continue with his education efforts with the community. There’s no word if Estrada’s police radio call sign will replicate CHiPS “seven Mary three and four.”
[Image by Charlie Gallay/Getty Images.]
