Former Blue Jay Dalton Pompey’s career as a police officer long time in the making

Former Blue Jay Dalton Pompey’s new career as a Hamilton police officer may have come as a surprise to some fans, but he tells CityNews he’s long thought about going into emergency services after his playing career ended.

“On the bench, there was always police officers, you know, just making sure people don’t jump on the field and whatnot. And I got talking to them and I was just asking them ‘Hey, do you guys like your job? What’s interesting about it, what’s not so interesting about it?’ And there’s just something that I just enjoyed, you know, having that conversation,” said Pompey.

“I always knew that there was going to be something after baseball. So, with that in mind, I kind of kept it in the back of my mind … you love being in the community and emergency services might be something for you.”

The Mississauga native, who played parts of four seasons in Toronto, retired from pro baseball in 2022.

Pompey said when he retired, Deputy Chief Ryan Diodati of the Hamilton Police Service reached out to him.

“He asked me ‘Hey, is this something you want to do?’ and he kind of laid it out there with me,” explained Pompey. “And Chief [Frank] Bergen was there as well and just told me what policing was about and wants to know if there’s a fit, and now I’m here today.”

Pompey also hopes his work as a police officer will help raise awareness for what they do every day.

“It’s a lot more complex than what people think. We deal with a lot on a daily basis besides just you know, giving out tickets and arresting people, but it is impactful. I feel like it’s a purposeful job and I come on here every day and I try to make a difference.”

And just like in baseball, Pompey has been relying on his fellow officers as he begins his new career.

“They’ve been nothing but supportive of me through this journey. I have a lot to learn, and they’ve been having my back and pushing me through things and … I’ve said if you guys ever need any baseball tips, I got you. And when it comes to police stuff, they’ve been helping me out a lot throughout this whole process,” said Pompey.

And while his family has been very supportive, Pompey said they were completely surprised about his decision to become an officer. They say it was “out of left field.”

The 30-year-old was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 16th round of the 2010 draft and moved his way up the system, making his MLB debut in 2014.

In all, Pompey played 64 games with the Blue Jays and hit .221/.289/.372, with three home runs, 10 RBIs and eight stolen bases. The speedy outfielder was utilized as a pinch runner during Toronto’s playoff run in 2015 and stole four bases across two series.

While some other police services’ have reached out to Pompey about joining their local baseball teams, he tells CityNews he’s going to get more comfortable in the role first.

“They’ve asked me if I wanted to join, I said give me a little bit of time to get my feet under me with this new job but who knows maybe I’ll play in a couple of years.”