HEMET: Former addict credits HPD officers with helping him turn his life around

HEMET – A man who said he has been arrested many times by Hemet police officers wanted to give an update on his life. He also wanted to thank two specific Hemet police officers for their help in turning his life around.

The person, who declined to be identified, wanted to take some time to thank Hemet Police Officers Brewer and Sanderson for the care and kindness they always showed him during their numerous contacts with him.

“I was a homeless, strung out, bike-riding, back-pack-wearing, jail-going tweeker for almost five years in Hemet,” the man – who now lives in Cottonwood, AZ – explained.

He said he has been clean and sober for over a year now and he credits Officers Brewer and Sanderson for his complete life turn around.

“Officer Brewer was the first to arrest me,” he explained. “When we got to the station he took time to ask about me and my life. He really showed me he cared and that cops are able to show feelings.”

The former Hemet resident said that during his many trips to the Hemet Police Department’s jail, he would often see Brewer there and that the officer was always kind and took time to learn about his life and counsel him.

“Officer Brewer stopped me a few times while I lived in Hemet; not to mess with me but to ask me how I was doing and if I was OK,” he recalled. “Not to run my name or to throw everything in my back Pack all over the street, but to just check on me.”

The man, who said it was very hard to share his message without getting choked up, wanted to let the two officers know how much of a difference their interactions with him made in his life.

He explained that Brewer never did him any favors and always held him accountable for his own actions. “He had eyes always watching me,” the man said.

If nothing else, he said that he owed Officers Brewer and Sanderson a report of how far he has come since his former poor life choices.

“I made it out of that lifestyle and I am a father again to my daughter,” he explained. “I closed the door on the basement of being rock bottom I was stuck in.”

“Thank you again Officer Brewer and Officer Sanderson. Keep up the great work.”

 

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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.