Gary Doohan was awarded a Certificate Of Merit for saving the life of an offender who suffered a seizure whilst in custody.
Harden Policeman, Gary Doohan, trained at the Goulburn Police Academy. He hasn’t always been a Police Officer. He left school at 16 and became a motor mechanic for 10 years, then he worked in security for a while.
He said, “I was one of the older trainees because I was 28 when most were 19, 23 and 24. I was stationed at Fairfield which was very multi-cultural. Police were the first on the scene for crime involving drugs, domestic violence and murders etc.”
Gary said he didn’t think he had an issue with the stress of working in the city until it manifested itself. “One of the reasons I came this way was so my kids could grow up in the country without the pressures of city life. I grew up in Campbelltown and just loved it.” Gary has been in Harden for 7 years but has recently transferred to Highway Patrol duties.
Gary said, “It is now a very different job with all the changes to technology and legislation. Drivers can now be affected by drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately, the stats for this are quite high in this area. Community awareness of drug impaired drivers needs to be high on the agenda. Even though drink driving has been around for years; unfortunately, people still do it.” Gary said one of the highlights of being a police officer was when people come up and say they appreciate what we do, because it can be a thankless job.
“Police don’t seek accolades and those officers honoured at the recent event will say they are simply there to help people. We just do our jobs, we don’t look for thanks.”
