Sometimes, the stage is set early for one’s career aspirations.
Such was the case for Debra Brown, a long-time local police officer who’s been nominated for a prestigious Police Association of Ontario Police Services Hero of the Year Award.
“I initially wanted to be a police officer after meeting the community service officer Const. Young of the York Regional Police at a wedding I attended in 1973,” says Brown, who grew up in Richmond Hill, the youngest of four children
“I was just shy of 5 years old. When I started kindergarten, he attended my school and did a stranger presentation and it scared a friend so bad that I had to walk her home.”
Brown says the irony of her early decision revolves around the fact that women were not even hired as police officers in the province until 1974.
“And I was too short until I was 17 years old when they changed the height restriction,” she jokes.
So instead of joining a police service at age 18, Brown decided to get her university degree as "a kind of backup plan," completing her degree at the University of Western Ontario in 1991.
The following September, Brown joined the Midland Police Service.
“During my time at Midland Police Service I worked as a road officer, but I enjoyed doing many community service programs including schools, Traveling Alone (program for women), lectures and community groups,” Brown says.
From there, she was hired in 2018 by the Anishinabek Police Service and served the Christian Island community for almost two years in the capacity of road officer and detachment commander.
“I enjoyed the community and loved being involved in the school, playing bingo at the senior centre and attending community events,” Brown adds.
And just over a year ago, Brown joined the OPP, which brought her back to Midland.
“It has been a year of growing and currently I am temporarily assigned to a specialty unit in Orillia, which I truly enjoy,” she says, noting that the best thing about policing is that it is so many jobs in one.
“You can be a police officer, a medic, a teacher, an accountant, a social director, a mediator, an ear, a shoulder, a friend, an advisor" she explains. "This is a job that is so diverse and each day can be a new challenge."
Brown was nominated for the award by Carol-Lynn Contois, who is currently a Georgian College Police Foundations student.
In her nomination letter, Contois writes about the profound effect Brown has had on her life since entering it when she was 15.
“Throughout that time, she taught me so many important life lessons,” Contois explains. “When I was younger, I was in a bad way, but she changed that forever. Now as a policing student, she is my biggest role model, along with many others.
“She is a true hero without a cape. She mentors many young people, including myself. She goes out of her way to go above and beyond her job.”
Contois says she’s seen Brown work 22 hours during what should have been a 12-hour shift to ensure the problem someone is having has been resolved effectively.
“She has stayed at the hospital all night, way past her shift's end time, just so she can make sure that person is ok and has a safe way home,” Contois says.
“She’s seen many horrible things done to people that no one knows of, not even me, but I know she’s seen a lot. But to this day, she’s stayed humble.
“The first thing she ever said to me was “I believe in you.” Not very many people believe in people, but she truly does. She puts blood, sweat and tears into this job. She’s my hero, and a hero to many people she helps. She’s a true hero.”
Brown says the nomination is truly an honour.
"Policing has its challenges at work and at home, and sometimes it is difficult to balance the two,” she notes. “At one point, I had an opportunity to change my career, but as I told a friend, I was not done policing.
“This nomination tells me I made the right career choice. This honour tells me that someone has faith in me and that policing does matter.
"The young lady who wrote this nomination letter is a young lady that I have mentored for many years. She says I told her that I believe in her, well she believes in me and that makes all the challenges police officers face day to day worth it."
The annual awards program provides the public with an opportunity to nominate and recognize their hero for the work they do on behalf of Ontarians.
This nomination can be related to a specific event whereby a police officer or a civilian police services employee went above and beyond the call of duty, or it can be in recognition for their ongoing support and involvement within their respective community.
