‘Age has nothing to do with it': Former professional basketball player to become DC's oldest police rookie

A former professional basketball player is making history as the oldest rookie to be sworn in as a D.C. police officer.

When Michael Smith graduates from the police academy in April, he’ll be almost 61 years old

“I'm proud that I have an opportunity to give back to the community and fulfill one of my dreams, but I think that age has nothing to do with it,” he said. “If you're physically fit and mentally fit and you're willing to really dedicate the time necessary to fulfill this opportunity and dream, you can do it. I'm a prime example. A perfect example.”

Smith wanted to be a police officer growing up in New York City, where his father was a police sergeant. But his basketball talent took him in another direction.

“God had different plans for me, so I went overseas and played basketball, professional basketball, 15 years. Coached professional basketball for 10 years,” Smith said. “But I had to fulfill my bucket list. Now, it's time to come back and fulfill my all-time dream, and that's being a law enforcement.”

Smith was part of two international championships and along the way played with NBA greats like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

Now, he’s making his dream of being a police officer come true.

“I'm just here to fulfill my dream and show myself, my family, who are behind me 100%, to fulfill my bucket list, my ambition, lifetime dream," Smith said. "And if it's four or five years, I'm going to dedicate 100% to do it. I'm giving my best and showing everybody during those five years that Michael Smith enjoyed his time and he did the best he can. And I hope that also passed down to the younger generation and my colleagues.”

The Metropolitan Police Department has a mandatory retirement age of 65, meaning Smith might not reach one goal.

“I wish I could have enough time to maybe be a sergeant like my father,” he said. “My father was a sergeant, like I said, in NYPD, and that was my ambition. If I could have stayed here and least had enough time to at least be the same as him, that would have been a beautiful objective for me to go out.”

Smith chose D.C. police after reading about former Chief Robert Contee, who joined the department while he was still in high school.

Because Smith will be forced to retire in less than five years, he won’t qualify for any pension, but he said that’s not important to him.

Officer Alan Miller was the previous oldest rookie officer when he joined in 2021 at 55 years old after eight years in the military and 19 years with the post office. He is one of nine current officers who joined the department in their 50s.