Driscoll says he wanted a “hands-on, bottom-up experience.” For him, that meant working as a uniformed street cop and then in the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit for over four years.

Braskich, who grew up in suburban Illinois, says that since he always knew he wanted to be a police officer, inspired by his uncle, a detective. He says he wanted a professional life that was more “meaningful and exciting” than his father’s, noting that his father held an office job.

As an undergrad at the University of Maryland, College Park, Braskich, decided to add a philosophy major to his major in criminal justice because he found the subject interesting.

After graduating, Braskich spent over three years in the Baltimore Police Department.

Ezekiel took yet another different road to the profession. Born in San Diego, he graduated from Stanford University with a degree in computer science before working as a software developer for Microsoft for over four years.

Deciding he wanted a more “people-oriented job,” Ezekiel moved to Renton, Wash., where he worked as a street cop for more than eight years, most of which, Ezekiel says, was spent on the graveyard shift.

Being a police officer, Ezekiel says he found an ethical and human component that software engineering was missing.

“There’s not always a right answer” as a cop, Ezekiel says.

Among their memorable moments on the job, both Driscoll and Braskich declined to recall particularly dangerous or violent situations.

Driscoll said that he didn’t want to tell “war stories,” since some cops have been through much worse, but added that “I saw all sort of awfulness.”

According to the Baltimore Sun, Braskich was off-duty when he opened fire on and successfully chased down two armed robbers in December of 2009, on the day before his LSAT exam. He received a Bronze Star from his police commissioner for his actions.

“What he did exemplified incredibly brave police work,” says Sergeant Jeffrey G. Boettcher of the Baltimore Police Department, who supervised Braskich during his time on the force.

Braskich emphasized that such situations were unusual.

“I’ve been in car chases and foot chases and dealt with people with guns,” Braskich says. “But that’s atypical. It’s not what police work is about. It’s about forging relationships with members of the community [and] gaining trust so that they can come to us.”

THE LAW’S ALLURE