Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Kimball veteran protects and serves

Captain Andy Bremer of the Kimball Police Department said that following the path of his father, and his father's father, off of the family ranch and into the Navy was the most natural choice for him.

"I'm third generation Navy, so it was a pretty easy choice, it was just something I was always going to do," he said.

Bremer joined the Navy in 1996 and served a four-year term, during which he was married to his wife, Courtney, whom he has known since he was 12.

Following his service, Bremer returned to the family ranch, just outside of Hemingford, where he worked until he pursued a career in law enforcement, again following in his father's footsteps. Bremer's dad became a police officer with the Hemingford department when Bremer was 16, and then became a chief deputy sheriff for the Box Butte County Sheriff's Office.

Bremer joined the Alliance Police Department in 2003, where he served as an officer, border officer, fuel training officer and finally, a K-9 officer.

When asked about the influence his father's career had on him, Bremer answered, "I always looked up to dad. He became a police officer late in life – I think he was forty when he started. But my heroes have always been farmers and cowboys."

The officer states that earning a living farming and ranching is tough, and said that this was also a factor in becoming a police officer instead of exclusively becoming a farmer or cowboy.

In 2010, the Bremers moved to Topeka, Kansas where he worked as an executive protection agent for the BNSF (Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company) for two years.

"After that, a friend of mine, Justin Trout, who I trained in Alliance was the sergeant here (Kimball) at the time and I called him, and then I came here as a narcotics investigator," Bremer said.

Currently, he is Kimball's K-9 officer with his partner, Xana. "Her name means mountain princess, and she is a princess," he said. Bremer added that his military career shaped him for police work, giving him self-discipline, respect for authority and an understanding of the chain of command.

Kimball seemed the right fit for them, as they both wanted to be closer to home, but not too close, and although, the Trouts were the only family known to the young couple when they first arrived, they felt welcomed by the community, and stated that they feel as though they have grown up here.

They are involved in community events and belong to a handful of local organizations, including the Masonic Lodge #294 and the Lion's Club.

"We love it here, this town has taken us in and it's just a wonderful place to live," Bremer said of his wife and their two children, Joseph,10 and Charlie, 5. The family has resided here for the past three years. "We plan on staying here until retirement, and spending the rest of our lives here."

The Bremers have often entertained the idea of having a place in the country someday living the country lifestyle, having some farm animals and raising some of their own produce, although Bremer states that he can't ever imagine not being a police officer.

Support for veterans and even police officers is abundant in Kimball, Bremer said.

"Even more so than other small towns, and even in this world, where police officers are pretty beat down, I still have concern for this community."

 
 
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