3 siblings, 2 police departments: Centre County natives on unexpected journey together
Cherese and Bryan Greene were each prepared to withdraw their application to become the newest member of the Ferguson Township Police Department, a job they each worked toward for years.
Cherese was employed by the Centre County government and had an offer in hand from Penn State police. Her brother Bryan was employed by the Lock Haven City Police Department. Neither desperately needed the job.
And the pair who were raised in Milesburg figured something had to give. They were told the township wouldn’t be able to hire siblings.
Cherese interviewed on a Wednesday; her younger brother interviewed the following day. On Friday, each received a phone call that they were among the final three.
That’s when Cherese made up her mind to take herself out of the running, in part because Bryan’s seven years in the Air National Guard would’ve catapulted him to the top of the list.
But when she called, the township’s message changed. Both were offered a job.
“We were really shocked. We were like, ‘Oh my gosh’ because that was not the plan at all,” Cherese said. “We were going into it that we were competitors, which both of us were going to sacrifice so each other could have the job. But luckily we both got it.”
Their March hiring was the latest example of the Greenes going through some of life’s biggest moments together. Their brother, Bryce, was hired by Spring Township police about two years before.
All three are alumni of Bald Eagle Area High School and Lock Haven University. Bryce and Bryan are even identical twins — Bryce was born seven minutes earlier.
“I like to joke that Bryce was planned,” Cherese said with a laugh.
Siblings working in any of the five municipal police departments in Centre County is not unheard of; three is uncommon. And each wound up in the profession even though neither of their parents were involved with law enforcement.
Their interest in the field was piqued by TV shows like “America’s Most Wanted,” a program that Cherese said would scare all three of the siblings. ”Criminal Minds,” “Cops,” and “Live PD” were other staples.
Now the three of them are living the realities often glamorized in those hit shows.
“One thing that I learned in the academy is everybody always says, ‘No one understands what you go through as a police officer. Not even your significant others,’ “ Cherese said. “... Sometimes you have to debrief with somebody. I know that if I needed to call and talk to somebody they would understand what I was going through.”
Cherese is part of a rare sorority. She’s the only female Ferguson Township police offer and one of only a few employed at any of the municipal police departments in the county.
She knows late her father would likely be shocked to know that she’s become a police officer alongside her younger brothers, though that’s not all.
When asked to offer their best estimation of what their parents would think about their journey that’s kept them together through the years, each chose the same word. Proud.
“Our dad was our biggest supporter. We spent all of our time with him. He was our go-to person,” Cherese said. “It’s hard because we go through these stages in life without him, but like I said, I wouldn’t be an officer if he didn’t pass.”
Added Bryan: “We like to say he had a little power with getting us hired together.”