Faces of Brown is an occasional feature to introduce the Brown community to colleagues.
Marital status: Married for 20 years last January; three daughters
Working here since: Came to Brown Nov. 16, 1979; joined Police and Security Jan. 3, 1984
Hobbies: model building, reading, sports
Favorite foods: Italian
What is your background? Honorable discharge from the Army. I have been at Brown since I was 18, so I guess you would say my background is "Brown." I attend Community College of Rhode Island at nights to attain my associates degree in criminal justice.
What attracted you to Brown? Job security and benefits
What has kept you here? I enjoy the environment, the people and students. As a campus security officer we have the unique opportunity to develop relationships with the community we serve, where as a municipal officer you deal with an incident one day and possibly don't see that person again.
Worst part of your job? Student suicides. We had a case about eight years ago where we found [the body of] an 18-year-old female student. ... It was the saddest thing in the world, not because of finding the body, but because of the waste a young life. She was just beginning to live and for it to end so tragically is really sad.
Best part of your job? I am doing what I like to do. I also like the traditional values of the University. ... wish I could have gone to school here. I feel that a lot of students just don't realize how fortunate they are to be attending Brown. Fifteen thousand students apply to Brown; 1,500 get accepted - that in itself says a lot.
What is the worst stereotype folks have of the department? They tend to take the anger and perceptions that they have of their neighborhood municipal police officers on us. So if the perception was a bad one with the officers back home, it transfers over to here.
If given the opportunity to say one thing to the entire community what would you say? Don't worry. Be happy. Let us do the worrying, let us do the worrying. That is what we get paid for - community service.
What has been one of the highlights during your time with Police and Security? [Former Police Chief] Dennis Boucher. I was the union president for four and a half years and spent a lot of time working with Chief Boucher and senior administration. During that time I learned a lot from him and have an utmost level of respect for him professionally and personally. ... There are a lot of things there are happening within the department now for which Chief Boucher was the "nucleus." ... This is in no way disrespecting Colonel Verrecchia.
- Damaris M. Castillo-Lopes