by Gene Fowler 

_{?”He swore that oath to protect and serve, Pours his heart and soul into both those words.}“

_{–from The Weight of the Badge by Bubba Strait,Dean Dillon and George Strait} 

One day back in 2009, a 63-year-old man suffering from dementia wandered away from his Aloha, Oregon, home. Though he was off-duty at the time, Washington County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Jason Yazzolino spotted the man, some eight miles from home and assisted with his safe return to his family. 

That’s an example of protecting and serving the “thin blue line,” the conceptual safeguard that, in the words of Wikipedia, “keeps society from descending into violent chaos.” But it’s just how Sergeant Yazzolino rolls.? And he applies that same conscientious, careful—and caring—level of attention and detail to the custom gear he creates in his off-duty jam, First Responders Leather Works. 

Jason first developed a knack for leather work back in the 1990s, while serving in the Marine Corps. “I joined in ’96, three days after graduating from high school,” he explains. “I was first based at Camp Fuji, near Mount Fuji in Japan, where I became a heavy equipment mechanic. Budweiser had a team of Clydesdale horses located in the nearby city of Gotemba and I had the opportunity to work with the horses and clean the tack.” He also became familiar with the old-style McClellan military saddle during his time in California. 

?On his first night back in the U.S., stationed in California, Jason met some cowboys in a bar. It turned out they were in the Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard and they told him the team needed help. While he continued working as a heavy equipment mechanic, he also rode for the Color Guard, which included appearances in the 2000 Rose Bowl Parade and the Pasadena Rodeo. 

“So that’s where I really got into working with tack, harnesses and leather gear, in my four years in the Marines,” Jason recalls. Though mostly self-taught by trial and error, and through books, he did learn a few fundamentals from a fellow Marine in California, who did leather work on the side. Back stateside, he made his first pair of chaps, tried his hand at riding bulls and learned how to make a saddle by tearing one down and reconstructing it. Al Stohlman books and tips picked up at leather shows also proved instructive. “When I first started,” Jason adds, “I’d go to saddlemaking shops and people would keep their how-to’s pretty close to the vest. Now, of course, with YouTube everything’s out there and available.” 

After his Marine Corps service, Jason started doing leather work in earnest around 2001, making belts, rifle slings and many other items. He also did a ton of saddle repair. His law enforcement career began in 2004. “It’s something of a family tradition,” he explains. “My grandfather was part of the protective service for the federal building in Portland, and his brother was a detective for Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. My brother is currently on the force with the City of Hillsboro, after serving 20 years with me at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.” Jason’s wife, Keri, is medically retired law enforcement and now supports Jason where she can. 

?The Yazzolinos live in the Polk County town of Dallas, Oregon. “Parts of Washington County are basically bedroom communities of Portland. So, we have to deal with many of the same problems you’ll find in urban areas all over the country. It’s not as bad as Portland, but the area has gotten somewhat more violent over the last four years. I just assisted with an investigation where we arrested a suspect involved in shooting a guy, for instance.” 

Jason founded First Responders Leather Works in 2019. “Many officers obtain their duty belts and other leather items used on the job from a company in Scio, Oregon, called A. E. Nelson,” he explained. “But I noticed they don’t offer custom gear and I could see there was a need for it. And at the time, I felt that the variety of things I was making out of leather was simply too diverse. I wanted to specialize and I especially wanted to do something meaningful for my fellow officers.” 

Today, working four days a week as a police officer and three days in his home workshop with First Responders Leather Works, he creates custom badge and pager holders, notebooks, portfolios, holsters and other gear for law enforcement all over the country. And with some 6,000 agencies to market to in the U. S., he stays busy. His current wait time on orders runs about four to six weeks. 

?First Responders’ customers find him through word of mouth or by discovering his website or Facebook page. “And when I advertise online,” he adds, “that usually brings in a ton of orders. When that happens, Keri usually says, ‘Are you advertising again?!’ Twelve came in just last week.” 

Once an order is placed, Keri finds images of department seals and logos that will be placed on the items. Jason contracts with an overseas artist to create the design, which is then used on the die and embossing stamp that a California artisan creates for First Responders. “There’s so much detail in these graphics that, sometimes, the die maker just puts it on his machine and goes to bed,” says Jason. At some point, that step will be accomplished in-house. “I recently spent $4,000 on a CNC machine to make dies, but I haven’t had time to learn how to use it. I spent about $14,000 on having dies made so far, so I’m sure my die maker hopes I’ll never figure it out.” 

?After the leather cutting, the embossing, stamping and sewing, all First Responders products are treated with Obenauf’s Leather Oil and spray-waxed with Fiebing’s Leather Sheen from Weaver Leather Supply. “But I learned that you need to let an item sit after the oil and wax is applied before you ship,” Jason explains. “I had made a notebook for one customer and his wife decided she wanted one too. Then she called and said she didn’t like it because it didn’t smell like her husband’s book. And I realized she was smelling the wax not the leather.” 

??At first, he thought it might have been because he’d experimented with a different brand of leather. But after that, he went back to the Wickett & Craig veg-tanned cowhide that he obtains from The Hide House in Napa, California. 

Jason solved another problem by talking to the Severe Brothers Saddlery folks at the Pendleton Leather Show. “My edge dye was wearing off, so I asked someone how they dealt with that,” he explains. “They said, ‘Just don’t use it. Instead, take a canvas cloth and a little bit of water and paraffin wax (a canning wax) and rub it in until it shines.’” 

While everything that First Responders Leather Works makes and ships is created with keen attention to tradition and detail, some jobs ascend to a whole ‘nother level. “A man who owns an insurance agency in Salem, Oregon, contacted me,” Jason says. “He had his grandfather’s old gun belt, but it didn’t fit. He wanted to be able to wear it, so I handstitched a new billet for it. Then he wanted a holster to match and a scabbard for his grandfather’s World War II sword. He was very pleased and that was just great to see.” 

?A belt that meant even more was made for a fellow officer. “Sergeant Jeremy Braun from our office was shot in the line of duty. He was part of a SWAT team where two of our guys got ambushed and shot by a guy holed up in the woods after stealing a shotgun. Jeremy said he wanted a new belt because his was covered in blood and locked up in the evidence room. He recovered though and he’s medically retired and living in Texas. I really felt a sense of purpose making that belt.” 

That good feeling swelled up in Sergeant Yazzolino another time, during a traffic stop. The officer who rolled up as backup didn’t know Jason. But as they talked, Jason noticed his notebook was one of the ones he made in his leather shop. 

Sergeant Jason Yazzolino has a lot of those great feelings in his future. After eight more years on the force, he’ll retire at age 53 and operate First Responders Leather Works full time. Even though he’ll be retired, if he sees another old-timer wandering the street and looking lost, you can bet your bottom buck he’ll step up to protect and serve. 

???????? “And he ain’t gonna buckle under the weight of the badge.” 

firstrespondersleatherworks.com