TAMPA, Fla. — So many people across the Tampa Bay area have incredible stories and some start before they arrived in the state of Florida.
ABC Action News Anchor Lauren St Germain sat down with Sgt. Joe “Abdul” Conteh with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office and had a conversation about how growing up during civil war in western Africa shaped the man he is today.
“My name is Joe Conteh. I go by Abdul. It’s actually Abdulai, which has been shortened to Abdul,” said Sgt Conteh.
He continued, “It has African Islamic origin, and it means servant of God.”
Sgt. Conteh grew up in West Africa and was forced to move around a lot, between Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia.
“Which was very customary for my life at the time. Moving from place to place either because of war or some squirmish that happened in those third world countries,” said Sgt. Conteh.
“What was that like for you? Having to move all around, especially because of wartime?” asked St. Germain.
“It’s had some profound effects on me that the age I am now, it still affects me and how I interact with people and how I conduct myself,” said Sgt. Conteh.
He eventually moved to the United States in 2006.
“One thing I appreciate was that I did make some good connections with people who looking back at it, if I didn’t have their help or their kindness, I would have had a different mindset. That has translated directly to what I do now being in law enforcement, being in the profession where you have the power to impact how you can help people, especially those who are victimized is something I take very seriously,” said Sgt. Conteh.
He was a detective in the criminal investigations division, and now he’s a sergeant in the school resource division, overseeing 14 schools.
“You have some kids who unfortunately are apprehensive of law enforcement, especially a certain subset of society like African Americans, so I think its incumbent upon myself to make sure that I let them know that I am here for them and they can trust me,” said Sgt. Conteh.
The conversation focused on his early years and career, but it’s clear he is a husband and father first.
“I am my kids’ number one fan and they are very dear to me, same with my wife. Do I like what I do? I do because I love being a father, so I just mirror that – the domestic side of me to the professional side of me – it’s a very easy transition,” said Sgt. Conteh.
He continued, “Unfortunately, with the path I had to take, I lost some really good connections with people either because their early demise due to the war or just the separation, so I don’t take things for granted, especially with my kids. With a profession like this, today I could come to work and it could be easy peasy and it could just escalate to a point where I won’t be here so every moment counts and I don’t take that for granted."
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