JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – A fixture of the Jacksonville Police Department is retiring after 68 years.
Officer XY Brown started as a volunteer with the department in 1957 while working as a truck driver at Camp Lejeune. Brown spent 14 years as a reservist and then became a school crossing guard in 1986, a position he still holds today.
In June 1996, Brown was reclassified as a part-time police officer.
“I remember even early on, that XY was serious about directing traffic at schools,” says Mayor Sammy Phillips who was also a deputy police chief. “He would literally put people in timeout for not obeying the school zone laws. As Deputy Chief and as Mayor, I am proud that we have had XY in our community, keeping our students safe every day.”
Brown has been a fixture on Henderson Drive, making sure children at Northwoods Elementary School remained safe.
The department will honor Brown on Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at the Jacksonville Public Safety Remembrance Garden.
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