At 18 years old, John Brockie became a victim of a carjacking incident in Long Beach, California.
Brockie’s first car had been stolen and totaled. He said the lack of help he received from law enforcement was the reason why he wanted to become a police officer.
“When I was 18, my car got stolen,” he said. “I was not happy with the level of service of the law enforcement agency.”
Brockie said the moment he knew wanted to work in law enforcement was when he participated in community service projects with organizations such as the 4H Community Club.
When Brockie was nine years old, he was a 4H Community Club member, where individuals ages 5 to 19 would participate in interactive learning projects to help out their local community.
“I think that’s what motivated me to go into law enforcement,” he said. “The old cliché that you’ll hear a lot is ‘I wanted to help people’ and I can say that in my almost 24 years in law enforcement, that I’ve been able to help a lot of people.”
In 1998, Brockie started his career as a police officer at Cal State Fullerton, but he still hoped to one day complete his college education.
“I wanted to set an example for my family and friends by finishing my education,” he said.
While still working as a CSUF police officer, Brockie enrolled at Golden West College to study criminal justice in 2008.
While at Golden West College, Brockie struggled to balance in-person classes while also working as an officer, a husband, and a father of two children.
In order to accommodate his busy schedule, Brockie made the decision to switch his classes over to asynchronous courses.
“When everyone in my household went to bed, that’s when I’d do my schoolwork,” he said.
While pursuing his education, Brockie was promoted to CSUF police captain in 2012 due to his 14 years of service at the campus, at the time.
However, after receiving his associate’s in criminal justice, two years later, Brockie attended Columbia University to complete his bachelor’s.
Brockie finished his education with a master’s degree in criminal justice and law enforcement administration at American Public University in October 2020.
“I just wanted to further my promotional opportunities, but in order to do so, I had to finish my education,” he said.
Later on, Brockie decided he was ready to further his law enforcement career by accepting an officer position at the CSULB Police Department.
“It was like a homecoming for me,” he said. “I lived a few minutes away from CSULB during my entire time at Fullerton.”
As of now, Brockie plans on taking the next step in his law enforcement career by running for the CSULB chief of police position.
“My career credentials and work within my 22 years at CSUF and time at CSULB have really prepared me to run for the chief of police position,” he said.
Miles Persons, a crime analyst at CSULB has known Brockie for about 10 years and is confident he will get the chief position.
The two officers previously worked together at the CSUF Police Department in December 2011. Persons was a Community Service Officer and Brockie was the campus police captain.
“[Brockie’s] been a mentor for me for my entire career,” he said. “He always helped foster initiatives that I’ve had.”
Persons also said Brockie’s promotion as the Chief would be “well-received” from their CSULB Police Department colleagues.
“[Brockie] is one of the top candidates in becoming the next chief,” Persons said. “Many of us in the department are excited for him because he’s really made great stride.”