After serving one tour in Japan and one in Africa as a United States Marine, Bobby Fair was ready to come home. He enrolled at The Ohio State University as a business major with the goal of becoming an accountant.
On Nov. 28, 2016, Fair was a student when an attacker on Ohio State's campus drove his car into a crowd and began cutting bystanders with a knife.
"I was at McPherson during the terrorist attack, and I was able to barricade myself and my classmates into our classroom," said Fair. "I just had this moment where I was like, 'who are you kidding? You're meant to serve.'"
Before Fair even graduated, he was involved with the university's Department of Public Safety working security at the hospital. He said becoming an officer for OSUPD after graduation was a no-brainer and an honor.
Officer Fair has been with OSUPD for just over one year. Below is a diary of a day in his life on the job as he walks through the doors to begin his shift at 3 p.m.
3 p.m.
At the start of every shift, Fair sits down for a briefing on the reports that have happened in the last 24 hours.
3:30 p.m.
Fair loads up the cruiser and checks his gear, making sure it's all where it should be. "Goodness forbid there's an emergency while it's dark and I'm scrambling to find the Narcan."
3:40 p.m.
Officers are assigned a district to patrol each shift. For this one, Fair is assigned 'rover' meaning he can respond to any call on any part of campus. "I like to rove. I feel more free that way," said Fair. "When I first get on a shift I like to drive around and see if there are any road closures so if I'm responding to something I know which roads to avoid."
4:15 p.m.
Another officer makes a traffic stop for a driver going 49 mph in a 25 mph zone. Fair stops by to assist.
4:43 p.m.
Fair pulls into the Child Care Facility. "I like to come in here at this time of day to show the parents we're here for them and are thinking about their children."
4:54 p.m.
The officer heads to the gas pumps at the Transportation and Traffic Management (TTM) building to fuel up his cruiser.
5:20 p.m.
Fair responds to a report where the caller says she found her windshield cracked after getting off work. He files a report and gets back on the road.
6:00 p.m.
After a quick break, Fair calibrates the light detection and ranging (lidar) speed gun. "My big thing is speed. Hitting someone at a crosswalk is something that's completely avoidable so I look out for that a lot."
6:10 p.m.
"Writing a ticket for someone speeding doesn't do anything for me or the department," said Fair. "I'm solely doing it for the safety aspect."
6:28 p.m.
A driver is clocked going 47. mph in a 25 mph zone. Fair decides giving this driver a warning would suffice.
7:00 p.m.
Dinner time. Fair stops by the station for a 30-minute break.
7:33 p.m.
Back on patrol.
7:45 p.m.
Fair takes a quick walk through The Oval.
8:18 p.m.
Fair makes his way to the top of the Tuttle Garage. "We've had some calls for service over the past few months, so I like to check up here in the evenings."
9:12 p.m.
A burglary alarm goes off at 1960 Kenny Road. Two officers are on their way, but Fair assists them. One of the responding officers is in training so they let him take the lead on this call.
9:24 p.m.
The three officers give the building an all clear after walking through it.
9:30 p.m.
Back on patrol. It's a quiet night on Ohio State's campus, as most students are back home for the summer.
11:00 p.m.
Fair pulls into the station at 11:00 p.m. He grabs his bag and walks inside to fill out paperwork then heads home to his wife and dog. Time for some shut eye and preparation for another day of keeping campus safe tomorrow.