At 57, one of the newest Chester County Sheriff’s deputies is fulfilling a longtime dream
Troy Brock said he always wanted to work in law enforcement. In June, he was given the opportunity to do so by the Chester County Sheriff's Office.
A year ago, Troy Brock had convinced himself his lifelong dream of working in law enforcement would remain just a dream.
He said he still thinks back to those days in disbelief as he puts on his Chester County Sheriff’s Office uniform.
“It’s very emotional because I thank God for this every single day that I get up,” Brock said. “I know a lot of people say ‘Oh, it’s just a sheriff’s position.’
“It’s not, and they have no idea the journey that I’ve been through to get here.”
In June, Brock, 57, was one of the oldest deputies to be sworn in by the Chester County Sheriff’s Office. Brock, a King of Prussia resident, said his journey to joining the office this past June was far from direct.
The son of a Wilmington Police Officer, Brock said he always sought to follow his father’s example.
But nearly 20 years ago, a major injury sidelined him days before he was set to enter the Delaware State Police Academy. In the intervening years, he worked as a security officer at the University of Delaware, St. Joe’s University and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia before landing a role with Chester County’s Department of Emergency Services.
His induction into the department came at a time when the office is re-evaluating how it recruits people to serve the county and protect its courthouse, according to Chief Deputy Sheriff Jason Suydam.
“We want people that live in the community to be part of this law enforcement organization and reflect the variety of people that live and work here,” Sydam said in a recent interview.
Suydam first met Brock at the county’s Department of Emergency Services, while he was working as the department’s deputy director of law enforcement. And when Suydam moved over to the sheriff’s office, he extended Brock an opportunity to join his team. Brock said it all seemed too good to be true.
“I had to chuckle a little bit because I felt like I’ve already buried that skeleton, and I wasn’t going to pursue it, because it was pretty heartbreaking,” Brock said. “But he saw something in me, and I knew I couldn’t let him down.”
Brock spent months on an intense workout schedule that got him into recruit shape, and he joined the police academy in January.
Suydam said he knew all along that Brock would succeed.
“Throughout the time that I’ve known him, I just thought he is the type of person that we need in this profession,” he said. “I remember when we sat down, him saying ‘I’m too old.’
“But I don’t subscribe to being too old or too young to do something if your mindset is you want to accomplish it.”
Brock said in the last five months he has become somewhat of a mentor to his fellow new recruits, most young enough to be his children.
“The most important aspect that I teach to them is it’s not about chasing a dollar or a position; it’s about having integrity,” he said. “That’s the backbone of law enforcement, being honest and having integrity.”
