Brewer had 22 years with the sheriff’s department, with 23 years total in law enforcement. (Picture by Ashley McCarty)

Brewer had 22 years with the sheriff’s department, with 23 years total in law enforcement. (Picture by Ashley McCarty)

By Ashley McCarty

People’s Defender

Mark Brewer, of West Union, Ohio, retired from the Adams County Sheriff’s Department on Aug. 15 after 22 years.

While Brewer always had a strong sense of right and wrong, his path to law enforcement wasn’t a linear path.

“I waited until I was 32 years old. One day, I was at West Union Police Department paying a traffic ticket, and one of the men in there said that I should become a police officer,” said Brewer. So, he began riding along with the officers.

“Back then, you could ride, you didn’t even have to go to the academy. It was an eye-opener. I remember the first traffic stop I was ever on, a guy was having a mental breakdown and thought we were Jesus there to save him. That was beside the old Pennzoil,” said Brewer.

When the policy on police training changed, Brewer went through the academy.

“They changed that, so I went through a 12-week academy. What it takes nine months to do now I did in 12 weeks. I went to the academy while I worked. I would get off work at 2 a.m., then be in Hillsboro at 6 a.m. I graduated from the academy in 1998. Back then when you got out of the academy, you had your gun of course, and a uniform, but we didn’t have vests or anything. The pay was about $6/hr,” said Brewer.

After the academy, he began working as an auxiliary officer at West Union Police Department.

“I left there and worked at Peebles Police Department for three months before I got snatched up by the sheriff’s office. When I started up there, there were still some of the older men that were there in the 70s. That’s who trained me. After the sheriff’s office hired me, I went to school to become one of the original school resource officers. They started that in 1999. I was an SRO until 2002. There were some budget issues, so I went to the road,” said Brewer.

During his time working the streets, Brewer had his share of harrowing situations, from being car to car with a murderer, having a gun aimed at him, to the gruesome Pike County massacre.

“You do suffer from trauma,” he admitted.

Through the years, Brewer kept his SRO credentials. Six years ago, an opening became available at Peebles High School and Elementary.

“After 12 our 13 years, it became old. It was the same people, the same calls. It felt like we weren’t winning anything. So, I wanted to go back with the kids. If I could change a couple of kid’s lives and make them better people, I’ve succeeded. So, I came back. Throughout the summer, I worked the road, or out of the detective’s office. I’ve done every job there is at the sheriff’s office; dispatch, jail, investigations and road,” said Brewer.

In 2019, Brewer found a spot on his arm.

“I thought it was just a lipoma. I started seeing some doctors, they did some tests and found it was some kind of growth underneath the skin. It wasn’t a lipoma. They thought it was a nerve sheath tumor. I went to a specialist, a neurologist, and on March 13, 2020, the same day schools closed, I had surgery. When the doctor came out afterward, he told my wife, Sheila, ‘Mrs. Brewer, I have never taken out a purple gumball,’” said Brewer. A week later, he and his wife were summoned back for results.

“My wife and I went to the office, and the doctor said, ‘Mr. Brewer, you have cancer. That’s not the worst part. It’s called Merkel cell carcinoma. It’s very aggressive.’ It’s skin cancer, but mine was underneath the top layers of skin. It had encased my lymph node. So, while the school was shut down, I was taking treatments. I drove to Cincinnati every day. When they were having the riots and unrest, I was down there,” said Brewer.

Brewer underwent 30 radiation treatments. His oncologist gave him a 50/50 chance to survive.

“Well, here it is August, and I’m in remission. My wife and I have talked to our kids — we have four adult kids and grandchildren — and they said if I could ever get out of the business [to take it]. It is a young man’s game — I’m 55-years-old. When you’re 55, your clientele is still 18 and 19. So, an opportunity came, the school was looking for an SRO that they could hire on their own. I took it,” said Brewer. Brewer had 22 years with the sheriff’s department, with 23 years total in law enforcement.

“I’m still a deputy, I still have my powers of arrest. I’m completely funded by the school. It makes the family feel better. It’s a lot less stressful, and it’s a lot easier on my body,” he said. Though leaving the sheriff’s office was not easy.

“I’ll miss the people. I miss the people I work with, but when I started working there, there were 18 people. There were three different shifts, plenty of coverage. Now, it’s not that way. No one wants to be a cop anymore. It was hard to walk away. I’ve made lifelong friendships there. A couple of us have been through a lot together,” said Brewer.

Moving forward, Brewer plans to reside in his SRO role indefinitely.

“I plan on being the SRO here as long as they want me. I have no aspirations of becoming sheriff, or anything like that. I think here is where you make the difference. I’m happy here. Today, I’ve talked to a boy in kindergarten. A lot of these kids, I’m the only positive male role they see. A lot of the kids hug me,” said Brewer.

The kids are his favorite part, he said.

“I thank the people of Adams County for letting me serve them all these years. The people of Adams County respect their law enforcement. This county wants law and order,” he said.