New public information officer a veteran of department

Sgt. Tom Mezzetta is the new voice for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Mezzetta, 45, has taken over as public information officer. Sgt. Lance Modispacher retired last month.

"(The sheriff) put out a call for service and just asked who would be interested in the job," Mezzetta said. "I thought it might be a nice change of pace from working the streets so long."

A 21-year-veteran of the department, Mezzetta spent 20 of those years patroling.

His job now entails doling out information to media outlets and managing the security at the courthouse and 100 Citizens Patrol volunteers.

"This has been refreshing," he said. "Things got kind of boring on the street."

Born in Palo Alto, Calif., Mezzetta grew up in Lake Tahoe. He graduated from South Lake Tahoe High School in 1977.

A year later, Mezzetta enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a security police specialist.

Of his two duty assignments in Kansas and Alaska, Mezzetta said the latter was the toughest because of its remote location 100 miles north of Fairbanks.

"I had to leave the wife for a year, and being away from her was tough," he explained. His wife, Amy, now works for the state of Nevada.

His four years in the Air Force led him to law enforcement, he said.

He said although the scenery has changed at work, the job remains the same.

"This is pretty much what did out on the street," he explained. "I'm trying to give the best service I can and help people out."