Press Room

Today, on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, we pause to honor the men and women across America who have sworn commitment to protect and serve. They have chosen to put their life on the line every day, selflessly dedicating themselves to the citizens of our great country and ensuring justice is served. They have pledged their lives to a profession that is demanding and underappreciated.

Many members of our Walden Security team are current or former members of law enforcement, including Mark Haley, Training Academy Coordinator. In his 30+ years with law enforcement, Mark worked as a Corrections Officer, Police K9 Handler, Military Police Officer, Drug Interdiction Officer and School Resource Officer. His stories and practical insights are brought to the classroom daily for our CSOs. To see a glimpse into this career, please see below.

Mark Haley's law enforcement career began in 1993 as a Deputy Sheriff and Corrections Officer in Hamilton County, Tennessee. A year later, he joined the Chattanooga Police Department, where he served as a Police K9 Handler and a K9 Unit Tactical Instructor. His patrol dog, Danbaja ("Dan"), was a German Shepherd trained in Czechoslovakia. They served first with the SWAT team and then with the drug detection unit—their first day on the job together led to 2 arrests, which was featured in a 1996 newspaper article (snapshot below). In their 8 years working together, Mark and Dan were responsible for over 280 apprehensions and millions of dollars in drug seizures

Mark and Dan had an incredible bond during their years together, with Mark crediting Dan for saving his life multiple times. In one instance, they were tracking an escaped, violent criminal. A car chase ended with a shoot-out. Once the criminal ran out of ammunition, Dan chased the criminal and caught them, refusing to let go until Mark arrived. Upon his retirement from service, Dan remained with Mark.

In the years following the K9 unit, Mark worked as a Military Police Officer with the Department of Military, where he completed terrorism threats and assessment risks. He also supervised a Drug Interdiction team, which used science, behavioral indicators, and traffic violations to identify criminals transporting drugs.

Mark remains active today, working part-time as a Training Officer, Drug Interdiction Officer and School Resource Officer with the Marion County Sheriff's Department – which he does in addition to his work as a Training Academy Instructor.

In his career, Mark has trained over 300 law enforcement officers. That is combined with over 400 CSOs he has trained with the Walden Security Training Academy. In fact, one Chattanooga Police Officer he trained as a rookie is a current CSO with Walden Security.

"I feel blessed to have had this long career," said Mark. "I became a police officer because it was a job where I could help people and prevent people from being terrorized. Growing up, I lost a lot of people to drugs, and I wanted to do my part to take drugs off the streets."

"Evil is tangible, and, as police officers, we witness that evil every day on the street. Training and resources are so important for officers, as is community support. I remember one National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day where our Chief asked our community to give us a thumbs up when they saw us. To see how many members of our community participated by doing that was great to see."