Sworn Member Spotlight: Like Father, Like Son

Constable Neil Moulton

Guelph Police Association

By Heather Hogan

Constable Neil Moulton, part of the Canine Unit with the Guelph Police Service, presented his son, Tyler, a new police recruit with the Brantford Police Service, with his badge. An honour given to him by Brantford Police Service’s Chief Rob Davis.

The Chief called his name, and Tyler Moulton marched to his father. Tyler and Neil saluted and shook hands.

Happy tears welled up in Neil’s eyes. He said it felt like just yesterday, 24 years ago, when his son was at his badge ceremony; he remembers Tyler trying his hat on and how big it was for him then. Now, Tyler has a badge of his own.

Neil is less than a year away from retiring and was surprised that the Chief called him to address the new recruits. “I went up, and I said you got to look out for each other, and you’ve got to look out for your family. You must be mindful that your family is also taking this job on with you.”

Tyler, following in his father’s foot-

Constable Tyler Moulton

Brantford Police Association

steps, worked at the Ministry of Correctional Services as a Correctional Officer before being recruited to work for a police service.

Neil says, “I must have done something right, and I couldn’t feel more proud.”

The Son’s Policing Journey Begins

Tyler’s journey to becoming a police officer began as a small child, growing up with his younger brother, Cameron. Being part of a policing family meant they knew their dad went to work to keep people safe. It’s also a job that affects the whole family. It’s no surprise to Tyler that police workplaces put significant demands on an officer – stress can come from ongoing exposure to trauma and critical incidents, interrupted sleep, the physical and time demands of the job, and more. However, this did not deter Tyler from wanting to serve.

“Growing up, I always knew policing was what I wanted to do,” says Tyler. “Just looking up to my dad, I knew that that was a field I always wanted to explore.”

After completing his Police Foundations at Fanshawe College, he headed west to Banff, Alberta, to work at a ski resort. His brother Cameron soon followed his brother in Police Foundations and went out west, too. Tyler wanted to gain life experiences, including travelling the world to Central America, to find himself.

The Father Reflects on How Policing Has Changed

Neil reflects that life is different than it was 30 years ago. “When you left school, you went out and got a job, you bought a house, you got married,” he says.

But he raised his sons to make their own decisions, steer their own path and follow their dreams. And that is exactly what Tyler did.

Tyler enjoyed living out west for a few years until 2019 but realized it was time to return home to his original dream of becoming a police officer. He started to plan and act methodically to get hired by a police service.

He began by taking university courses to get an edge in recruitment. Following this, his father picked him up in Alberta, and they road-tripped it back to Ontario. Neil asked Tyler if he was set on what he wanted to do. He wanted Tyler to be sure that policing was the road he wanted to go down.

He said, “Buddy, your mom and I will support you. But policing is changing. Like, the whole world is changing. Are you sure you don’t want to be a firefighter? Everybody loves a firefighter.”

Neil was describing how the culture towards people’s reception of the police has changed. Following the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, anti-racism, violence, and police protests gained traction across the world, including Canada, as did calls to “defund the police.”

The Son Joins the Brantford Police Service

“I don’t know if it’s from growing up playing sports or just how my parents raised me, but when I set my sights on something, especially with something that I plan on doing for the rest of my life, I have a no-quit mentality,” says Tyler. “I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. Policing was what I wanted.”

Tyler went through the application process, which was tough and competitive. He didn’t get accepted everywhere he applied, and it took time. But he found his fit with the Brantford Police Service. He completed police college, got married and had a daughter, all within a short period.

“I wanted kids, and I wanted a family at some point, and I wanted to be able to give them what my parents were able to give me,” says Tyler. “Growing up in a policing family, I also saw all the bonds and friendships and camaraderie that my dad had. Like, we grew up around police officers. I got to see those bonds outside of work that my dad had with people at work, and I’ve never had that in any other job.”

Tyler describes his father as very open and honest – not sugarcoating the profession. But his father protected his fam- ily from the unspoken – the hard stuff.

After being sworn in, completing training at the Ontario Police College, and a three-month ride along with a coach officer at the service, Tyler was out on his own in the fall of 2023. He appreciates his father even more now that he is in the field.

My Kid is a Cop, He’s a Man, But Still My Kid

“I still refer to Tyler and Cameron as my kids,” says Neil. “Guys at work will ask, so what’s Tyler doing? I’d say my kid’s a cop now, working in Brantford. They say, well, he’s a man. He’s not a kid anymore. But I still refer to him many times as a kid because he’s still my kid, but he’s a man.”

It’s now dawned on Neil that ‘his kid’ is now responsible for helping people and making a difference in their lives –just like him.

It hit home for Neil and his wife of thirty years, Kim, when they got a terrible call. While on duty, Tyler was involved in a collision going through an intersection. He had the right of way, and a car ran the red light and t-boned the car beside him, which then struck his vehicle. Luckily, he walked away unscathed.

“It hit me especially hard,” says Neil. “I was on the scene when Constable Jennifer Kovach, a 26-year-old officer from the Guelph Police Service, lost her life in 2013 due to an incident involving a transit bus. She died in my arms.”

This is a sensitive, sore spot for Neil. Tyler knew that making a call to his dad about his car accident might stir up some emotions. Constable Kovach’s funeral was the first police funeral Tyler had attended. He is acutely aware that policing comes with risks.

The Father Embraces Retirement, The Son Carries on His Policing Legacy

Tyler recalls his father saying that it was important for him and his brother to understand the reality of policing and that it is dangerous.

Tyler advises anyone getting into policing to have their “core people in line beforehand. People you know that you’re going to be able to talk to in and out of policing, along with your teammates you work alongside with.”

His dad is one of Tyler’s core people. Neil remembers his son calling him excitedly telling him what he got to do that day. His enthusiasm, energy, and gumption linger in Neil’s memory. While he still has a deep love for his work, particularly in the Canine Unit, Neil believes it’s time to embrace retirement after 24 years of dedicated service. Neil jokes that navigating and leaping over obstacles, especially fences, is becoming a bit challenging at the age of 58.

When Tyler was out on the road with his coach officer for three months before being on his own, he said he prepared him well. He also leans on his teammates to show him the ropes. But now that he’s out on his own, he enjoys making his own decisions, taking a call, leading his own investigation, because he feels well prepared.

“I love that factor. So as sad as it was, not having my coach with me, being out on my own and doing my own thing is a lot of fun,” says Tyler.

Right now, Tyler is focused on patrol, learning, and growing. He is hopeful about the future because there are many opportunities and specialty areas in policing.

He can’t wait. And he also cannot stop smiling.