INSIDE
PICKERINGTON
N E W S & I N F OR M AT I O N F R O M T H E C I T Y O F P I C K E R I NGT ON
Not everyone that goes to work loves their job. But Dean Brown isn’t like everyone else. Pickerington’s longest serving patrol officer loves what he does, even if it wasn’t his first career choice. “I didn’t want to be a cop. I went to college (Hocking Tech) to be a park ranger or game warden. I was majoring in recreational wildlife and was taking a class called Laws of Arrest: Search and Seizure. The instructor said it would be beneficial to go through law enforcement training because there’s so much depth in the laws. So I did. I thought I’d get a couple years under my belt and then go and be a game warden.” That was 30 years ago. Brown came to Pickerington in 1990 as an auxiliary officer and also worked at the water department. When a full-time police officer position opened, Chief John Fuller knew Brown was the right candidate for the job and offered him the position. Over the years he has been a part of drug task forces, is a precision shooter, worked as a motorcycle officer and also as a bike officer. When asked which job was his favorite, Brown said all of the above. He loves what he does and it shows.
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“I love being with people and forming relationships in the community. They support us and I really appreciate that. I also just like helping people. When someone calls or comes in and said Officer Brown helped them, it makes me feel good. It might take me five minutes to help change a tire or something, but that small gesture could change someone’s day for the better.” One of Brown’s more memorable moments on the job is when he helped save the life of a teenage boy. “We got a call about an unresponsive teen. The mom could see her son through a window and when we arrived she was screaming for us to save her son. I kicked in the door and it looked like my kid laying there. I thought he was gone. Another officer, Jim Gallagher, showed up and we started working on him and were able to bring him back to life. I saw the kid probably six months later and he was doing well. We found out he had a medical issue that led to that moment. Saving him was probably one of the most fulfilling moments of my career.” But not all calls have a happy ending. Brown has seen a lot of difficult things in 30 years and said he has survived by shutting off his feelings (in the moment) and leaning on his training. “You don’t react with emotions at the time. You lose it later. I’ve definitely had a lot of those moments over the years.” Officer Brown unwinds by spending time with family, his 6-year-old quarter horse Arizona Sunrise and hiking. In fact, Brown has taken many trips along the Appalachian Trail. In September he hiked more than 100 miles through Virginia. Pickerington Police Chief Tod Cheney has worked with Brown for 25 years and says he’s an invaluable part of the department. www.pickeringtonmagazine.com
Photos courtesy of the City of Pickerington
Brown: City’s longest serving patrol officer
