Baltimore Family Has Gone Into Law Enforcement For 80 Years

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It's not terribly unusual for a son or daughter to follow in their parents' footsteps and go into the family business but, as Mike Schuh reports, those footsteps begain 80 years ago.

Blame it on Raymond; he started it in 1936.

"He retired from Baltimore City as a lieutenant," said Jay Landsman.

We civilians hear that police officers are all part of a blue family. Well, the seven officers in this room really are family: Retired Lt. Rick Landsman, Lt. Jay Landsman, Captain Jay Landsman Jr., Sgt. Joseph Landsman, Officer Janet Landsman, Lt. Jay Landsman's granddaughter, Officer Ashley Morales, Officer Nicholas Landsman.

You don't have to be much of a detective to see the connection. Surely there are bigger police families, but no one can come up with one in our area.

"To us, it's just what we've done. We know that bad weather comes up; hurricane, you've gotta get up and clear your car off, get ready because you're going in," said Jay Landsman, Jr.

Clearly the glue here is Dad.

And if Jay looks familiar, he is. Writer David Simon shadowed his city homicide unit resultingin the book "Homicide," and then the TV show "Homicide," and then "The Wire" came along. Jay had moved to the county and was an actor and consultant on "The Wire."

But before all that, his kids saw how much he enjoyed the work.

"He would have a crab feast every summer with all the people from work and we got to know everyone who he worked with and he made it so you wanted to do that; that's what you wanted to be," said Janet.

"One of the best Christmas presents I ever had was Rick's dad's lieutenant hat, his white lieutenant's hat," said Jay Landsman, Jr.

A police family, one which knows that real success starts at home.

"Makes you proud. My wife is proud of every one of them. She worries to death," said Jay Landsman. "She's done well; she deserves all this, you know."

As you might expect, the Landsmans' have extended family who also work for police departments.