Tragic events have stuck to this cop for a very good reason
Most cops will go on and specialise, but for 35 years, Brad Smart stuck to general duties – for a very good reason.
Gatton
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MANY cops will find a niche - forensics, road policing, or even with the squad dogs - but a Gatton cop found his calling in general duties.
For 35 years, Brad Smart has walked the beat as a general duties police officer, and says there's more to the role than writing tickets.
But after helping the community often through extremely challenging situations, it is time for Senior Constable Smart to hang up his boots and badge.
The Queensland police has a mandatory retirement age of 60, one Mr Smart reached yesterday (Sunday).
"Being a police officer isn't just about writing tickets or arresting people, there's a lot of other things involved," Snr Const Smart said.
"I've been general duties my entire service, and I'm proud of that because I think that I've done a lot of good in the community."
Prior to joining the Queensland Police, Snr Const Smart was a motor mechanic, and had intended to join the police workshop team.
Snr Const Smart started his career on August 26, 1985, when he was posted at Fortitude Valley.
He moved onto Redcliffe station for 13 years before transitioning to Gatton in 1999.
"I'd only been at the Academy two to three months and I sort od decided 'I really like this', and thought I'd give it a go instead of going into the workshops," he said.
There's been many highlights during Snr Const Smart's 21 years at the Gatton Police Station, many of which have stemmed from tragedies.
"They always stick in your mind," he said.
"You go to those sorts of jobs and when you go home afterwards, you think 'I did a good job today helping people through those bad times'."
Not only has Snr Const Smart helped the community, but he's helped shape the next generations of police officers at the station.
"The team here we've got at the present time is really good," he said.
"We've got a lot of new junior police and they're very keen.
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"The last couple of years I've been more in a supervisory role than anything. I hope I've taught them something."
The esteemed police officer has some plans for retirement, but said if possible, he would have stayed on.
"If you'd asked me 12 months ago, I would have said 'when I'm 60 I'm glad to go', but I am looking for a break away from certain parts of the job," Snr Const Smart said.
"I don't have any retirement plans in concrete … I'm going to have some time to myself and there's plenty of things to do around the yard."
The station's officer in charge, senior sergeant Rowland Browne, was all praise for his retiring officer.
"Brad's a good member of the community, he's an excellent officer and will be sadly missed," Snr Sgt Brown said.
"He's taken first years out and trained them for the first few months, and provided ongoing training for junior staff, and senior staff."
The retiring officer's passion for policing will continue through his son Brandon - who's a second-year constable in Toowoomba.
"He had an office job and wasn't really happy there. One day he came to me and said, 'what would you think if…'," Snr Const Smart said.
"I said 'go for it'. It's always looked after us, and its been a very good job.
"I have had no regrets and I've enjoyed just about every shift I've worked."
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