AS A single parent raising three boys on her own, Cam Farrell’s mother had no choice but to work long hours. Farrell and his brothers often lacked supervision, but sometimes, it takes a village to raise a child, and in Farrells case, his “village” included local law enforcement officers.
Police Chief Jan Phillips visited his school when Farrell was in second grade, and he vividly recalls exploring Phillips’ patrol car and being entranced by it. Then, there was Officer Justin Smith, who was intentional about interacting with him. These encounters stirred something inside him.
“My mom worked quite a bit to keep us afloat. I wasn’t terrible as a kid — just mischievous. I had a lot of good people helping me, so I didn’t get into as much trouble because I played youth football and basketball. Sports kept me super busy. Smith stopped to talk to us kids a lot, and he would bring us stickers. It was folks like him who came around and they were kind to us. I told myself that when I got older, I would go into law enforcement. But it was like a battle inside of me. I knew that if I wanted to become an officer, I had to stop getting into trouble,” said Officer Farrell.
When he was in 11th grade at Cascade High School, he became a role model in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.) led by Sgt. Tracey Harvey.
“The D.A.R.E. program impacted me the most,” recalled Farrell. “People in there opened up and talked about their struggles. Sgt. Harvey would say, ‘You can be anything you want to be. You’ve got to be a good person.’ She was always consistent and honest, and she always kept her word.”
While attending Cascade High, his best friend’s parents, Brent and Lynn Richardson, opened their home to him.
He said, “They allowed me to move in and cared for me like I was one of their own. This was a pivotal moment in my life. They treated me like gold and taught me lots of life lessons. To this day, my children know them as grandparents. They continue to treat me like their own son. I love them dearly, and I am grateful for them.”
After high school, he attended Motlow State Community College and worked in the after-school program at Cascade Elementary School. Four years passed, and though he loved working with the students, he could no longer stifle his dream. On Halloween night in 2008, he started his first shift at the Bedford County Jail, and in 2011, he graduated from the police academy.
Farrell patrolled the streets for two years and worked as a bailiff. But in 2012, following the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, county officials began adding student resource officers (SROs) into middle and high schools, which, of course, piqued Farrell’s interest. With strong ties to Cascade High, he applied and discovered the position had been filled, but there was an opening at Community Middle School. That was 12 years ago.
“The people at Community accepted me in, and I love it there. As an SRO, I can be effective in a positive way to a kid that feels like they have nothing positive. I 100% believe that God gives certain people gifts to do certain things, and I think this is my calling. I want them to understand that as dark as it may seem — if they keep looking for the light, if they don’t stop or quit — and they understand that then it’s super rewarding.”
He continued, “I couldn’t do this job without my wife, Nicole, by my side. Even though she has been battling leukemia for quite some time, she works hard to keep me on schedule and always makes sure our girls have everything they need. When I see her working so hard, knowing what she is dealing with, she inspires me to be a better person.”
Harvey recently launched the Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence (L.E.A.D.S.) program in local public schools, which allows Farrell to teach alongside his mentor. Just as Harvey inspired Farrell, two of Farrell’s former students whom he coached in softball have also chosen careers in law enforcement. Sydnie Seagroves serves in Maury County, and Gabrielle Doyle is the SRO at Thomas Magnet School.
Through the L.E.A.D.S. program and their daily interactions with students, SROs like Farrell ensure every child has a “village” like the one he was blessed to have. GN
