Since childhood Summerville Police Capt. Doug Wright had his future planned—a future of patriotic devotion and community service, desiring to follow in the path of bravado his father mapped out for him.
“All I ever wanted to do was be a Marine and a police officer,” Wright said. “I always had that drive, that desire.”
After his military career, his father served nearly three decades with Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and retired as a police chief for Isle of Palms Police Department.
Wright said it was Charleston County Sheriff’s Office that taught him from age 14 to 21 many of the ins-and-outs of law enforcement during his years in its explorer program.
At James Island High School, Wright seemed every bit the quintessential all-American student, participating on his school’s football, wrestling and track teams and dating the girl he would later marry. Wright went on to attend Trident Technical College with help from the FBI Academy’s J. Edgar Hoover Scholarship.
At the time he had no idea the monetary reward foreshadowed what he described as the "most prestigious mark" of his police career: attending and graduating from the FBI National Academy.
Less than 1 percent of law enforcement officers both nationally and internationally are chosen to attend the 10-week program offered four times a year in Quantico, Virginia. Officers ranked as lieutenants or higher can apply, and between 225 and 250 officers from among 50 states and 190 countries are chosen each session.
“You’re dealing directly with the top of the food chain,” Wright said. “You’re dealing with people who make budgets, balance budgets, who deal with policy.”
He said each state’s size determines the number of officers it can send. South Carolina gets three slots per session, sending 12 people total annually.
Wright said he was on a four-year waiting list before he received the news last November he’d been accepted.
“It’s certainly exhilarating,” Wright said. “(I’ve) worked hard for so many years.”
He is only the second officer in Summerville Police Department's history to attend. Chief Jon Rogers, who couldn’t be more proud of one of his senior officers, was the first.
“I am very proud of what Doug put into the process and completion of the FBI National Academy,” Rogers said. “He has a brilliant future ahead of him. Hard work really does pay off.”
Wright echoed his chief’s thoughts when he recounted the preparation process—how he engaged in a rigorous physical fitness regime he designed for himself.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Wright said.
Five days a week he powered through cardio and core exercises, shedding 70 pounds overall. It was a feat he never thought possible in his earlier years and had reservations about before going in to the FBI program.
“I battle with weight...even though I’ve always been in good shape for a heavier guy,” Wright said. “I didn’t think I’d have a problem with the academics...but the physicality was going to be an issue; it was something I was a little bit hesitant on.”
Prior to heading up to Quantico on July 8, Wright traveled three times to the FBI field office in Columbia to complete fitness training, including a one-mile run under 10 minutes. The run was the same challenge Wright and the 224 other officers in the program endured on Day One at the academy.
For nine hours daily during the week, Wright tackled a full load of college coursework from the University of Virginia, giving him 17 credit hours toward his bachelor’s degree. In January, he said, he will start classes at The Citadel to complete his undergraduate work.
From July through Sept. 15—graduation day—Wright studied course material spanning everything from employment law, critical incident and crisis negotiation to counter-terrorism and cyber attacks. He also endured physical fitness training for two hours, three days a week. Though initially an area of weakness for him prior to the program’s start, it became his favorite time.
“The class that I’d dreaded the most...ended up being the most rewarding,” Wright said.
He also boasted completion of the program’s 6.1-mile obstacle course, part of the notorious Quigley course for the Marines. Known as the Yellow Brick Road, it's the final test of the fitness challenge. But in order to attempt the course, FBI program participants must first complete all program challenges along the way including finishing the mile-run on time. Wright did everything, plus the course, and received a coveted yellow brick as a sign of his achievement.
In addition to mingling with FBI analysts and agents, who shared the same dorm with people in his program, Wright said he enjoyed forming relationships with fellow officers—like his German roommate—and comparing agencies' policies and procedures.
“It brings reassurance to me to know that we really have it good here. We have a really good law enforcement here,” he said of Summerville.
While most agencies share the same challenges of recruitment and retention and climate of the community towards the law enforcement profession, Wright said the local agency is “just a microcosm” of the issues agencies in metropolitan cities encounter.
“We’re pretty spoiled in this community because we are pretty...appreciated,” he said of residents’ respect for officers.
After serving eight years in the Marines, Wright has given 20 years—an anniversary he celebrates this month—to Summerville. He even worked security in high school and was named class leader at police academy, where he graduated in 1995.
“I’ve kind of always worn a uniform,” Wright said.
He worked briefly as an animal control officer at age 19.
While he’s had more memorable moments than he can count, a handful stand out his mind, including his years as a canine officer with his Belgian Malinois Cora. During that season Wright said he was part of an Interstate Criminal Enforcement team that together with agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency and deputies with Charleston and Dorchester counties intercepted illegal drugs and guns.
“We were taking down major criminals on a daily basis,” Wright said.
One such incident occurred while serving a search warrant on two suspects in Harleyville. The scene mirrored one from an action movie, as Wright described the setting and how Cora was vital in apprehending the men.
“We had helicopters overhead and federal agents and SWAT teams all over, and I traced two suspects into a high brush field and into the woods,” he said.
Two other memorable career moments were nothing short of heroic and earned Wright awards of valor and an Officer of the Year honor for pulling a family from a burning apartment in 2008 and a driver from his fiery car in 2015.
“I have a thing with fire,” Wright said with a laugh.
He’ll never forget, in the years after the first incident, encountering a tearful man who thanked him for saving his family’s lives.
“It was very moving, very touching,” Wright said.
Looking back over his time served in uniform, the police captain has no regrets over his career choice.
“It’s still the most rewarding profession in the world,” Wright said.
His focus has always been on the people he serves, not the paycheck or potential praise for good deeds.
“The vast majority...don’t do it for the money...(or) for the gratification. They know they are serving their community...protecting their community,” Wright said.
“If you can save one person, one life...then you’ve done your job. That’s worth your whole career,” he said.
Wright and his wife Valarie reside in Summerville and have three children ages 17, 15 and 8.
