![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bluekc.com\/blueprint\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/AKC_3356-1024x681.jpg\")
Even if he did choose to jump off from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He continued to rise in the ranks, eventually becoming a Black Hawk helicopter pilot before asthma ended that chapter of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was in the Army for 8 1\/2 years, and he looks back on it as a positive, even though he admits that \u201c95 percent of it sucked at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going into law enforcement made the most sense for his next career, though he had to admit he didn\u2019t like cops. But police work was nothing like he expected or experienced growing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can look back and see how many people\u2019s lives I\u2019ve been able to impact in a positive way, even people I\u2019ve had to arrest, just finding them the resources and giving them advice,\u201d he said. \u201cI never thought I\u2019d be in that position. And I\u2019m really glad that God took me in this path, because it\u2019s been extremely rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s moved 38 times in 50 years, but he\u2019s found a community in Liberty, Mo. The community has embraced him as well, as he became the first sheriff in the 200-year history of Clay County to run unopposed, at least the first in the last 68 years that they\u2019ve found election records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of his decades of work, Akin is the April recipient of the \u201cBlue KC Answering the Call\u201d award, sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and benefitting The Battle Within. The Battle Within is an organization that helps former military personnel and first responders cope with the sometimes-hidden trauma of their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He currently serves as a mentor with The Battle Within, an organization he initially joined for the benefit of a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t need the battle within, or so I thought,\u201d he said. \u201cBut The Battle Within was life-changing for me. There, I was in a safe environment with other people who experienced the same things, and I felt like finally I wasn\u2019t alone. I finally felt like I was just able to let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, after three decades serving his country and his little corners of it, Akin is right where he\u2019s supposed to be. In more ways than one.<\/p>\n\n\n
Blue KC supports the Kansas City community through impactful sports partnership programs<\/h3>
Blue KC Answering the Call program<\/p> <\/div>\n