Twana Brandon was worried when her youngest son started acting out.
The Galloway Township mother of six lost her oldest child to the criminal system, and didn’t want to see her youngest go the same way.
So she called on Galloway Township School Resource Officer Chris Doyle.
The retired police captain had been her oldest son’s football coach years ago.
He didn’t even hesitate to respond, Brandon said.
“It really touched my heart that someone would take the time out to reach out to him,” she said of Doyle coming to talk to 8-year-old Jayden Davis. “I lost one of my other sons to the system and it was horrible.”
She said Doyle actually coached her oldest son.
“If I had reached out to (Doyle) all those years ago, maybe things would have turned out different,” Brandon said.
Jayden said he didn’t remember much of what Doyle said to him, but it did make a different.
“I was doing bad things,” he said. “I’m doing better now.”
Galloway Police Chief Donna Higbee said she wasn’t surprised to hear about Doyle’s actions.
“He’s always been very dedicated to the community,” she said of the father to two boys. “It always inspired me that he continued to coach baseball and football long after his children were out of youth sports.”
Doyle would pick up those who needed rides and even take them out to eat.
“He’s a very genuine community-spirited person,” the chief said. “A good guy all around.”
Retired after 25 years with the department, the captain returned as a school resource officer, where “the kids love him,” Higbee said.
“It’s a privilege for me to have him working in this capacity,” she said. “He treats other people’s children as if they’re his own. He genuinely is a great role model.”
