Imagine a police officer so beloved that even people he once arrested came to visit him years later when he was in the hospital.
That’s how close Officer Bryan Brown was with many residents of the Tohono O’odham Nation, whom he served in uniform for nearly 20 years before he was run over and killed with his own patrol car last week, his younger brother said.
When Brown had a stroke several years ago, “hundreds of people” came from the reservation to visit him in the hospital, said Brown’s brother, Steven Brown, who lives in Washington state.
“There were even some people he’d arrested over the years who came to show their respect,” the officer’s brother said.
Steven Brown described his sibling as kind, optimistic and “extremely compassionate” toward others.
“He had a huge heart. On his days off, he would drive into the desert and fill up water jugs,” for migrants crossing over from Mexico, he said.
Bryan Brown, who died at the age of 57, “never planned on being a police officer,” said his brother, 56.
A native of Washington state, where much of his family still lives, Bryan Brown joined the Army fresh out of high school in 1981 and served several years overseas as an avionics technician on Black Hawk helicopters used for medical rescues.
He deployed to the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, maintaining the helicopters from a base in Saudi Arabia, his brother said.
After leaving the military, Bryan Brown went to work for private industry overseas then returned to the United States and eventually headed south to Arizona, where “he heard there was steady work to be had,” he said.
The tribal police job seemed a great fit, his brother said.
In the military, Bryan Brown had served with people of different races and was at ease being part of community where he was the one who looked different, Steven Brown said.
Bryan Brown abhorred racism and would call out anyone who told a racist joke within earshot, his brother said.
Bryan Brown felt a renewed sense of purpose 10 years ago when he was assigned as a school resource officer for Baboquivari Unified School District 40 on the reservation, his brother said.
The two siblings often talked on the phone and Bryan Brown would regale him with stories of 20 or so children lining up to hug him as soon as he set foot on campus.
“If there were 20 kids, they would each get an individual hug. Not a group hug,” Steven Brown said.
When COVID-19 shut down the planned graduation ceremony at the reservation’s high school, Bryan Brown spent two days criss-crossing the 2.8 million-acre reservation to hand-deliver a diploma to every graduate, he said.
“Oh man, he was so pumped about that,” his brother said, recalling their conversation.
“Some of these were troubled kids he had dealt with in the past who had managed to straighten out and graduate.”
Bryan Brown was eligible to retire soon, but his brother said he had decided to stay on the job another few years.
Steven Brown said tribal officials are planning a memorial ceremony on the reservation next month. Another ceremony will be held in Washington state, he said.
Bryan Brown is survived by his wife Rena Brown, 10 children in their blended family, and several grandchildren, his brother said. He is also survived by several siblings and his father.
Edna Morris, superintendent of the reservation’s school district, said Officer Brown will not be forgotten.
“His role in our schools, and creating trust relationships with our children and students, has been immeasurable,” Morris wrote in a Facebook post.
“He will always be remembered for his kindness, loyalty, integrity and ability to connect with our children.”
A 39-year-old man, Carlos Maximilliano Galvan, was arrested for allegedly killing Bryan Brown on Aug. 27 near a tribal casino in Why, 120 miles west of Tucson.
A federal court complaint said the suspect threatened the officer with a broken bottle, stole his police vehicle and ran him over with it. Authorities said he also rammed several Border Patrol vehicles in his escape attempt.
The suspect told authorities he was high on meth at the time, the court complaint said. He is facing a murder charge and three counts of assault on a federal officer.
