Former Blue Devils Leading, Serving in Local Communities

By Luciana Chavez

When Merced College says its students are “Made in Merced, Built for the World,” that world includes their own backyards.

These first responders, who learned their trades from local experts at Merced College, make the slogan true—new City of Merced Fire Chief Casey Wilson, new Dos Palos Police Chief Dayton Snyder, and Gustine Police Reserve Officer Monica Marrot, who recently took the oath.

They each have a different take on their professions, but the connective thread is their desire to serve.

Casey Wilson

After being named City of Merced Fire Chief in July, Casey Wilson completed a cool sweep of sorts. Since starting his career there in 2003, the Le Grand High alum has held every rank within the department.

“My job is to help people get through the worst day of their lives,” said Wilson, 41. “I love helping people. It drives me.”

Wilson said he was motivated to move into leadership through examples like Donnie Roe, who set an incredibly high standard of training at Merced College, and fellow instructor and MFD firefighter Bryan Donnelly.

Wilson first became interim chief in 2023 and started overseeing improvements like gaining advanced life support (ALS) status at Station 53. It’s the first station in Merced County with that capability.

That crew carries paramedic firefighters, which the department has been wanting more of for years, and Wilson’s alma mater is providing qualified personnel.

“I mean it when I say, if not for the Merced College paramedicine program, we wouldn’t have 11 fully trained paramedics, seven more in training and another five beginning the next cycle,” Wilson said. “Without it, we’d be lucky to have a quarter of that staff.”

The MFD has also acquired two Type One Engines, which support four firefighters battling structural fires, and added Squad 53, a two-person emergency response unit. That’s the first new frontline crew in Merced in 65 years.

Because retention is an issue, the chance to train and hire locals, who are more motivated to make careers near home, gets Wilson going each morning. He wants to formally partner with Merced College and local high schools to build a career technical education pathway for first responders.

Wilson is digging in.

“I’m the ninth Fire Chief in the history of the Merced Fire Department,” he said. “Since 2010, we’ve had five chiefs. I didn’t necessarily want to be chief, but I’ve seen what happens when leadership changes so often.

“God willing, I will be chief for 10 more years, until I retire. I have no desire to go anywhere else. I am deeply rooted in this community, and I mean to serve it.”

Dayton Snyder

Dayton Snyder grew up in Merced around a military family on the west coast, while also having a law enforcement family on the east coast. He had career options.

After graduating from Merced High in 1993, Snyder spent some time navel-gazing about his choices, until a police friend invited him on a ride-along.

“Then I knew I could get into law enforcement,” said Snyder, the new Police Chief in Dos Palos. “I saw that police work was a calling. It reminded me of what my parents always said, ‘Whatever situation you get into, make sure you leave it better than how you found it.’”

Snyder, 51, paid his way through Merced College by working at juvenile hall. And he found great guidance from academy instructors Greg Hausmann, Kalisa Rochester and former Atwater Police Chief Richard Hawthorne.

After first being hired with Merced PD, Snyder evolved over 20 years at the Atwater PD. He took every assignment, and then, as a sergeant, ran a multi-agency gang task force and became a certified UAV (Drone) Operator to oversee the training of new pilots.

“That work gave me a taste of writing policy and overseeing departmental policies,” said Snyder, who also has a master's degree in Public Safety Leadership from Arizona State. “That prepared me for the Dos Palos chief position.”

Snyder has worked first to build culture in Dos Palos. He believes, “Any team with a good culture is a great team.”

He calls Dos Palos, which employs 10 sworn officers, three reserve officers and six non-sworn officers, “a breath of fresh air.”

“My first challenge was to figure out how to help when this town already has a great atmosphere,” Snyder said. “Well, I have people here who want to learn. They’re all sponges. So I try to provide as much good information as possible.

“I hope I am starting to have a good effect on the guys and gals on my team. This job is about committing to the people we serve. I welcome anyone to do this work, as long as they are in it for the right reasons.”

Monica Marrot

On Sept. 2, Monica Marrot was sworn in as the only female reserve officer with the Gustine Police Department.

It’s a fast result for a 32-year-old mother of six who earned her U.S. citizenship in 2023. It’s even more impressive for a woman who graduated from a continuation high school in Morgan Hill in 2008 as an undocumented teen mother with a baby on her hip.

Marrot was wildly nervous when she returned to school at the Merced College police academy 14 years later. She started fast, passing Module 3 in 2022 as the only cadet to score 100% on first aid and CPR tests.

She had the opposite experience with Module 2, which covers firearms, use of force and more. The first time she tried it in 2023, the cohort got canceled when only eight students enrolled. She had to wait an entire year to try again, and then she struggled to properly handle a shotgun in 2024.

“I kicked myself for a long time,” Marrot said. “Our instructors kept telling us to work with the shotgun, because it was so heavy. It turned out to be too heavy for me and I failed. Then I had to wait another year to try again.”

The encouraging voices in her ear during those hard years belonged to her supportive husband Eddie Marrot and to Merced College professor David Noblett, a Chowchilla PD alum. Lt. Raymond Framstad from the Merced County Sheriff’s Department was another mentor. She saw them often because she also works security at the college.

Marrot plans to finish Module 1 at Delta College in Stockton next year. The Gustine PD will sponsor her when she does. Once she passes, she can get full-time, paid work in law enforcement.

“It’s not a high-crime area, so Gustine is a great place to learn,” Marrot said. “It feels really good to be on the job. It’s a great accomplishment for me.”

Marrot, who worked two jobs while attending the academy, is also proud to announce she quit her overnight job at Walmart because she was recently hired full-time at Merced College.

Finally—more time to spend with her kids.

“They’re all so happy for me,” Marrot said. “They saw my struggles. They saw me devastated when I failed my shotgun test. They saw it all, and now they see me succeeding.”