Professional Wrestler, Turned Detective Champions For Justice
Image of Detective Ephraim Vega
Ephraim Vega was working in auto financing in New York when he stopped by a boxing gym one day to follow up on a loan. Tucked away in the corner, wrestlers were training. Vega watched them, fixated.
“We train every Sunday,” they said. “Do you want to come and train?” Yes, Vega replied, launching a nine-year professional wrestling career.
The ring took him across the U.S, into the Caribbean, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, where Vega would win two world championships. He trained and competed with legendary wrestlers in the World Wrestling Entertainment, the National Wrestling Alliance, and the Total Nonstop Action.
Though he loved wrestling, constant travel and family responsibilities redirected Vega. A wrestling fan introduced him to loss prevention. That was one change. His father was in Missouri and had just received a kidney transplant. That was another change, and with it swirling, Vega moved to Kansas City.
In 2012, Vega became a KCPD officer, joining brothers and relatives who have served at other law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. He knew early, soon after graduating from the police academy, that he was interested in investigations. At that time, Vega was able to help get a rape suspect in custody.
“Maybe a week or two later, the detective sent an email thanking us for our work and the reports we wrote,” Vega said. “We’d be first responders on critical incidents and get suspects in custody, but we’d never know what would happen after that. I was always intrigued about what happened next.”
Since leaving Patrol, Vega has served in the Special Victims Unit, the Homicide Unit, and Internal Affairs. He has investigated horrific crimes on behalf of victims and survivors.
“You put faces to the victim, the suspects, the witnesses,” Vega said. It’s like putting a puzzle together. There is the allure of taking a crime and putting it together to find justice for the victim.”
Vega is of Puerto Rican descent and is fluent in Spanish. Over the years, he has been able to assist other officers who needed help translating. He has also been a friendly face to Spanish speakers who have called for police, describing it as a blessing.
“They can tell when I arrive, and you can see the relief when they can’t speak English,” Vega said. “Being able to break that language barrier and hear them out, they feel heard and understood. There’s value in being able to understand them and hear them in their exact words.”
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