Maryville Police Officer Alyssa Watson, formally Estabrook, always had an inkling that she would go into law enforcement.
Fresh off her wedding and honeymoon with MPD Officer Matt Watson, she talked about what it means to come from a law enforcement family.
Watson said her stepfather worked in law enforcement, and she has fond memories of her mother cooking for the entire squad and dinners at the station. Watson remembered the care and love her stepfather’s fellow law enforcement officers showed her. That sense and longing for brotherhood stuck with her.
Buckling under preconceived notions of what career field she should enter, Watson first studied nursing but quickly realized it wasn’t for her. She switched her major and graduated from Southern Connecticut University, majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in psychology.
“I don’t think I’d be fulfilled doing anything else,” she said.
Watson started her career with MPD in August of 2020.
In October of 2023, Watson and K-9 Justice, a two-year-old Belgian Shepherd, completed their training at Shallow Creek Kennels and began their partnership.
“It is a crazy jam-packed six weeks of pretty high-speed training,” Watson said, “It’s one of the hardest trainings I’ve done.”
Watson said that in training, Justice shined at obedience but was also a phenomenal tracker, which Watson attributed to his high-energy nature.
Since coming out of training, Justice has been on one live track. Watson said that day, a man had threatened to harm himself and his two children. Blount County Sheriff’s deputies had been pursuing him while he was driving a truck with the two children inside.
The man abandoned his car in a random yard, leaving the two children inside and took off on foot. Watson said it was probably 75-80 degrees that day. Thankfully, she said, a homeowner happened to check their cameras and noticed a strange vehicle in their yard. Otherwise, things may have ended very differently.
Watson and other officers reviewed footage from a neighbor’s camera and then let Justice lead the track.
Justice followed the man’s scent through a wooded area. Watson explained that while they were tracking in the woods, a woman was out walking with her dog, who was off-leash. While the dog tried to approach Justice, Watson said Justice never lost his focus.
He ended up leading officers straight to the house where the man was hiding out.
“It was incredible to watch. It makes you really trust your dog,” she said.
Watson said working with a K-9 piqued her interest when she started going on tracks with other officers and attending different K-9 trainings.
“It’s incredible to see just the way their noses work and how much of an asset a four-legged partner can be to us when it comes to finding narcotics, finding people; it really is a great tool that we have,” she said.
Currently, Watson is the only female K-9 handler in Blount County.
She said that it was something she never put much thought into, but going forward, if she were to have a daughter, it would be a meaningful lesson to hand down: to let a little girl know that if she works hard enough, she can excel in male-dominated fields.
It’s a message Watson said she enjoys sharing. Watson and Justice go on demonstrations and visit schools, and Watson says it’s nice when little girls show interest in her role.
When asked why she thought there weren’t more female K-9 handlers, she said, “I think just given the nature of the job because you know at some point in your career, it’s not an if, it’s a when things are going to get physical..”
While Watson talked about the physical advantages that men may have in her field, she said the job isn’t always just about brute strength. Empathy and knowing how to relate to people are also significant skills needed for the job, she said.
“I think women also bring a unique dynamic to this field,” she said.
While Watson said MPD has been nothing but supportive of her work, she doesn’t always get the same respect from others. When Watson’s picture was posted online to welcome her as a new officer with MPD, responses had to be moderated due to inappropriate comments.
Watson also recalled a person asking if MPD lets her work alone at night and if her male partner protected her.
When Watson and Justice are off the clock, they relax at home with Watson’s husband and their three cats, Ozzy, Peach and Josie.
Watson said their cat, Ozzy, likes to sneak into Justice’s kennel to cuddle with him and that Justice acts as a gentle giant, nuzzling with the cat.
Justice also loves a good toy, Watson said, and is guilty of collecting whatever objects he is interested in, whether it’s a large rock or a deflated basketball he found at the park. At home, she said Justice is a master of stealing the cats’ toys and attempts to hide them in his mouth.
Watson said his new object of affection is water bottles. Her husband gave Justice a water bottle to play with one day, and now, if he sees someone with a water bottle, he will try to steal it. She said the other day, Justice stole a bottle of Dr. Pepper from someone. He doesn’t really do a lot with it, she said; he just wants to take it and run around with it.
Watson said she gets to see two sides of K-9 Justice: the side that works and the side that just wants to play and be loved.
“The bond is definitely incredible. It’s unlike anything else,” she said, “My heart lives in that dog.”
Watson said she can’t picture herself doing any other kind of work and can’t imagine working without Justice.
“Our job intertwines us in the lives of so many other people and can really change the course of lives for other people. I think that’s a big responsibility and it’s also a privilege,” she said.
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