CENTERVILLE—It’s been 41 years since Centerville Police Chief Paul Child got started in law enforcement. Now he’s retiring and ready to turn the page on a new chapter of his life. Child has been the chief for nine years, but he started his career as a reserve officer in January of 1983.

“As a Reserve Police Officer, I was kind of a volunteer to learn the ropes,” he said. “I also

started as a part-time EMT Firefighter for South Davis Fire.”

In May 1983, the floods hit, said Child. “I was putting in 40 hours a week as a reserve. There were a couple of weeks of intense floods and I was also working full time for my dad. I was working around the clock. I got about four hours of sleep a day.”

In 1984 he went to the police academy all day and worked on the weekends for the West Bountiful Police Department. “I worked for West Bountiful for three and a half years,” he said. “I had a lot of good experiences.”

Child said in 1987 he had the opportunity to go back to Centerville. “That was in April of 1987 and I’ve been here ever since.”

 He was promoted to Sergeant in 1997 and promoted to Lieutenant in 2002 and later to Assistant

Chief. “When Neal Worsley retired in 2015 I was selected to take over as Chief.”

In the early days there were no cell phones, said Child.“The Fire Fighters all had red pagers. I

had this pager with me all the time even when I was in bed at home.”

Child said one morning he heard the pager reporting of a man down from a pipe that blew up in

his face. “It was just down the road from where I was living so I threw on my EMT call-out and went over. It was my dad. His leg was blown off. It’s the worst thing to respond to friends or someone you’re close to.”

The police see a lot of trauma, he said. “But to be there at the time when people need help is satisfying to me.”

Child said early on he carried a big portable radio with an earpiece. “I could be mowing my lawn, be at church or at the store and I had to listen to dispatch all of the time while on call.”

Centerville didn’t have enough manpower so he’d get called out in the middle of the night, he said. “I’d almost be trying to wake up on the way to the call. Things have changed.”

Child got interested in law enforcement when his dad was appointed as Deputy Marshal for West Bountiful. “He was on the city council for a number of years. He was kind of a liaison with the police department. The chief would drop by the house and tell dad what was going on and I’d listen to him. I got pretty interested from listening to his stories.”

Right out of high school, Child started going on ride-alongs with the West Bountiful police. “I would go once a week watching and observing and hopefully not annoying them,” he said. “I went on an LDS mission and when I got back I decided that’s what I wanted to do. A few months later I got picked up by Centerville and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Over a 41 year career, Child has seen a lot. “The house fire on Porter Lane stands out,” he said. “Three kids died in a house fire with their dad. When you have kids of your own and you deal with another little kid it’s especially hard. I went to one call in the night and the kid died in my arms. I went home and cried to my wife.”

There’s a lot of tragedy out there, he said. “Much of it I’ve seen and helped with but even tragedy has a silver lining. I have reached out to their family and loved ones and tried to be there for them. For years I check up on them to be a sounding board.”

Child said he’s tried to show compassion and do follow up. “I’ve checked in with them on the anniversary for many years afterward. It feels good to think I make a difference.”

Another incident that stands out is the fire set by an intruder. “It was a terrible situation,” said Child. “A man went in and attacked a man and woman in their house then set it on fire. I can’t state strongly enough how proud I am of our officers. They handled the whole situation so well.”

Nobody died, he said. “That is a complete miracle, not the people in the house, our officers, or

even the intruder. A lot of lives were saved that day, including an elderly man. The officers helped him out.”

There were some pretty tense moments, said Child. “They were doing this, meanwhile the house was engulfed in fire. They were doing the right thing at the right time, for the right reason. I feel that I’m leaving the department with my head held high. I’m leaving it in good hands.”   

It’s been a rewarding and challenging career, Child said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I hope I’ve made a positive impact on many lives.”