GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. -- Children often follow in their parents' footsteps when it comes to choosing a career. But one of the newest deputies in Arapahoe County was born into it quite literally, and she got a special initiation just in time for Mother's Day.
Samantha Wheaton and Suzanne Beckstrom are two members of law enforcement that are a little familiar with each other. They are mother and daughter.
Just this week, Wheaton officially joined the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, and mom wasn't going to miss it.
"It's a defining moment," Beckstrom said. "She came home. She's been a police officer for three years, but she finally came home to the area she grew up in."
A 33-year member of the Greenwood Village Police Department, Beckstrom was the first officer from the department to be pregnant while on active duty.
"It was difficult because I couldn't share it with anyone, because I wasn't sure what their reaction would be," Beckstrom said.
Hiding it was tough.
"I bought bigger pants; I loosened my belt; I loosened my bulletproof vest," she said. "I can't remember who, but they said you look like you're putting on a little bit of weight. I said, 'well, I need to cut back on the beer."
And nights on the graveyard shift, dealing with morning sickness was part of the duty.
"I'd be driving in an area, pull my patrol car over, vomit and I'd have my jar of scope and ice water and saltine crackers to keep it together and keep going," Beckstrom recalled.
It's a story Wheaton has heard a time or two.
"Since I can remember," Wheaton said, laughing.
Law enforcement wasn't always the plan for Wheaton.
"I tried to get her to go into the fire service, but there wasn't going to be any of that," mom said.
But law enforcement was familiar to Wheaton, and she has a solid role model.
"She's very tough," Wheaton said of her mother. "I feel like I'm pretty tough, too."
The professional and personal rankings are still tipped in Beckstrom's favor.
