NOTE: Throughout the month of July, BrownwoodNews.com is publishing stories daily on 40 standout citizens under the age of 40 making a positive impact and contribution within the Brown County community.

Experiences during her youth shaped the career path of a former restaurant manager and dog groomer to a life in law enforcement, as Deputy Saydie Bradley closes in on her four-year anniversary with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.

“I’ve always wanted to be a police officer,” Bradley said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little girl. My father was on the other side of the law enforcement aspect so I grew up around law enforcement a lot. I just always wanted to be like them. They always helped me out and I thought it would be neat to help other people out, especially kids.”

Bradley, 27, was hired by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 1, 2018 after attending police academy. She works patrol and specializes in environmental aspects, and this year Bradley – the lone female on patrol – was voted Deputy of the Year.

“It does feel like I have a lot of big brothers, a lot of people looking out for me, but I can handle myself on the streets and they know that. They try not to step on my toes because I will put them in their place,” Bradley said with a laugh. “I’ve been the only female since I started working there, but I don’t get treated any differently from anyone else. We do have a female jailer that’s in the academy right now. She’ll graduate soon so we’ll have another female on the force and that’ll be great. I’m so excited about that.”

Bradley was born in Brownwood, but raised in Coleman County and eventually graduated from Coleman High School. After managing two restaurants in Fort Worth, Bradley moved back to Brownwood in 2017 and began working at Cornerstone Pet Hospital as a certified dog groomer while also attending the police academy.

As for the most rewarding part of a career in law enforcement, Bradley said, “Knowing I’ve helped someone out. Most of the time in our job we’re seeing people on the worst day of their lives. It’s never really a happy moment when they see law enforcement. Answering those calls where you go and someone thinks their world is ending but you can figure things out and help them and know that you’ve made a difference for at least a few minutes, even if it was just sitting there talking to them, is so important.”

Down the road, Bradley intends to advance her law enforcement license.

“I’m about to get my intermediate peace officer license and the end goal is to get my master peace officer license,” Bradley said. “I would like to dive more into the environmental aspect of it. The “Don’t Mess with Texas” campaign and things like that through the environmental aspect, I would like to do something where I don’t leave the sheriff’s office but would still be able to branch out and do something like that.”

Regarding the relationship between law enforcement and the residents of Brown County, Bradley said, “I am super blessed to work in Brown County because we can be eating and have 15 people come up and tell us ‘thank you for your service’ or offer to buy our meal. We’re definitely blessed. I have friends and family that work in Austin for the police department and sheriff’s office there and they just tell terrible stories, but we do not have that issue here. We are definitely blessed with the support of our community for sure.”

Other activities Bradley is involved in include serving as secretary for the Brown County Sheriff’s Office Association while also grooming dogs on the side for extra money.

Bradley has a 1-year-old son, Uriah, and a 2-year-old stepdaughter, Remi, and is in a relationship with BCSO investigator Jose Rodriguez.

As for her support system, Bradley credited her family for getting her through the police academy and continuing to stand by her career choice.

“My grandpa raised me as his own,” Bradley said. “He died two months into the academy, so my family was behind me 100 percent. I missed a lot then and didn’t think I was going to make it through the academy, but I did. And they still back me all the way.”