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CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — There are thousands of law enforcement officers across Champaign County, and among some of them are families with roots spanning decades. The Brown Family has roots in law enforcement tying back to the past 65 years.
From serving Rantoul in 1959, to later being sworn in as the Champaign County Sheriff in 1978, Joe Brown set a foundation for his family for many years to come.
By 1990, his sons, Tony and John Brown were following in those footsteps. The identical twin brothers were sworn in at the University of Illinois Police Department where they spent the next 25 years together.
“It was the best thing in the world to work with my brother for so many years,” John, the current Deputy Police Chief in Tolono, reflected.
In between shifts, John would go home to his family, where his young son Evan looked up to his dad every single night.
“He’s always loved law enforcement. He’d have us make up police uniforms for him when he was little and he’d wear around,” John said.
Evan Brown, a former police officer in Mahomet and current officer in Champaign, remembers those days fondly.
“I have memories of him coming home in his uniform and bringing the police car home for dinner and I’d play in the police car almost every night,” he said.
From playing in one to driving his own. Evan is keeping the family tree of law enforcement officers alive.
“I think my favorite part is, as cliche as it sounds, I’m very happy in patrol,” Evan said.
When he goes out on calls, his dad hopes he remembers one thing in particular.
“You always want to treat people as if they’re your grandmother,” John said.
It’s a phrase his father taught him several years ago and still remembers today.
In the summer of 2024, the duo worked together at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
“It was a lot of fun to be able to work with him as part of that deployment,” John said.
Now, the law enforcement bug is biting Evan’s 4-year-old son, who said he wants to be like dad one day too.
“That makes me proud as a parent, that he looks up to me in that regard,” Evan added.
Policing was something Evan was born into, but from his dad’s eyes, it was something he was truly made for.
“He seems to have a natural talent that I would’ve loved to have had to do the job,” John said.
Tony, his twin brother, is currently the police chief in Rantoul.