CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – “Ego Kills Careers” is the name of a new course for police officers. Chambersburg Police Chief Ron Camacho says he designed the free class to help officers navigate putting up protective barriers with being successful leaders.

Camacho admits he definitely had an ego at points of his career. It’s actually what’s pushing him to teach others how to drop theirs.

“I could have been described as being arrogant, intense,” Camacho said. “My old way of getting the job done was running over people.”

Camacho has held his position as chief in Chambersburg since 2016. Many remember him as a captain for the York City Police Department for 18 years.

The U.S. Army veteran was also a police trainer in Afghanistan and Mexico. It’s a unique path that forced him to examine the psyche of law enforcement officers with high-stress careers.

“Going to the death of a baby is a hard thing, so we put up these walls and sometimes we don’t know how to put down these walls,” Camacho said. “Some of the stuff that we do is to protect ourselves.”

Camacho says that’s where ego often comes from, and he doesn’t want others to make the same mistakes he did.

His class is on March 11 at the Franklin County Public Training Safety Center

Camacho is using his experience and the experiences of others to discuss the importance of communication.

“It’s not about you, right? It’s about the community,” he said. “It’s the other people, the team, and really using introspection and self-reflection to see what’s going on inside you before you start barking off orders or making someone else have a bad day.”

The chief is hoping to offer a similar course on the same topic to people in careers outside of law enforcement in the future.

Law enforcement can sign up on the Franklin County Public Safety Center’s website.