Former New Westminster Chief Const. Ken Brown passed away on June 19 at Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
Brown was born on July 31, 1933 in Peace River, Alta., moving to British Columbia as a child.
He lived in Surrey before making New Westminster his home with wife Edna and their young family.
Brown served in the Royal Canadian Navy before starting his policing career in 1955 as a constable with the Vancouver Police Department.
Brown was promoted to detective in 1963, sergeant in 1969, staff-sergeant in 1971, and later to inspector in charge of the vice squad.
Brown joined the New Westminster Police Department as its 19th Chief Constable in 1978, taking over from Rod Keary.
In the next 14 years, before his retirement, Brown served on a variety of provincial and municipal committees, including a stint as the president of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police.
During his tenure in New Westminster, Brown was a big proponent of promoting community involvement in policing, even before the term "community policing" was in vogue.
An example of this was the creation of the New Westminster Police Department Soccer School, which started in the 1980s and runs to this day.
Approximately 300 kids per year partake in this weeklong event.
Brown also brought New Westminster police into the modern age, ensuring that members were given the best equipment and training possible, including the introduction of body armour, better holsters and police vehicles and the creation of the emergency response team in 1981.
Brown was the city's top cop in 1990 when a hostage taking and shooting occurred at the New Westminster Courthouse.
Two police officers were wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a man who had smuggled a gun into the sheriff's holding cells.
The man took several hostages and during an attempt to rescue the hostages, the police officers engaged in a fierce gun battle from a distance of only a few metres.
Both officers returned to active duty, but the male suspect died in hospital.
Brown received multiple commendations throughout his career.
After Brown's retirement, he moved with Edna to Vancouver Island, where they lived in Youbou and then Brentwood Bay.
Brown is survived by Edna, his wife of 59 years; children Teresa (Jack), Debbie (Ken) and Ken (Lorie); eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Verna and Ellie.
By Brown's wishes, there will be no service, but donations to the CKNW Orphans' Fund can be made in Brown's name.
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