Dreams come true for no-nonsense rookie cop

AMIELEIGH Cooper might suffer from a range of debilitating conditions but that hasn’t stopped her from realising her dreams to work with the police force.

Amieleigh Cooper, 18, always dreamt of becoming a policewoman. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

ALTHOUGH she’d always dreamt of being a police officer, Amieleigh Cooper’s ambitions went into overdrive last year when she discovered the Nickelodeon Junior show, Paw Patrol.

“She has all the episodes and the movie and the little police dog stuffed animal,” says her grandmother Muriel Cooper. “One day she told me, ‘Nanny, I’m going to do police business with the Paw Patrol.”

It was that moment Muriel decided Amieleigh — who has cerebral palsy, four forms of epilepsy and the terminal condition mitochondrial complex IV deficiency — deserved to have her dreams come true.

Muriel phoned the local police station at Melbourne’s Broadmeadows, explained Amieleigh’s predicament and asked if she could come and visit. “They could not have been more supportive,” says Muriel. Today’s Australian of the Day was given a tour of the station and emergency vehicles — including activating the siren and flashing lights (“She loved that,” says Muriel).

But what started out as a one-off meet and greet has turned into a regular station catch-up. Depending on how busy the officers are, Amieleigh visits about once a fortnight and is assisted by Sergeant Fiona Pavin and Constable Erin Simper. When she turned 18 last September, the officers presented Amieleigh with a police shirt and hat. “She wore it to bed three nights in a row — hat and all,” says Muriel.

In Amieleigh’s mind, she’s a no-nonsense rookie cop — and her passion for policing is the reason she’s being honoured as CommBank’s Australian of the Day. “Fiona and her colleagues have given such a wonderful gift to Amieleigh in allowing her to believe she’s part of their station,” says Muriel. “She’s a beautiful girl and she just wants to help uphold the law.” She’s certainly lifting plenty of hearts along the way.

CommBank has partnered with News Corp Australia to champion the Australian of the Day initiative which celebrates people in our neighbourhoods and communities who really make a difference to how we live and who we are. People like Amieleigh, who enrich the lives of others. You can read all their stories at australianoftheday.com.au, where you can also nominate someone you know.