Police department, family rallies around officer with cancer

Police department, family rallies around officer with cancer


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OGDEN — Master Police Officer Brett Skinner is the kind of man who extends help anytime he can. So throughout his year-and-a-half battle with cancer, his family and police force have given him the help they think he deserves.

Skinner, a 48-year-old officer with the Ogden City Police Department, was getting ready for the department’s required physical fitness test in October 2011 when he told his doctor he wasn't feeling himself. After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with colon cancer.

The father of four quickly underwent surgery to remove the cancer, and in spring 2012, began a round of chemotherapy. As word spread through the police force about his condition, people began looking for ways to help.

“People think (because) we’re cops, we’re the tough, manly group and we never get sick and we never cry. Everybody reacts to it differently,” said Sgt. John Thomas of hearing the news about Skinner’s cancer. “A couple years ago, we lost another officer, he had cancer and he lost his battle. Some of us had already been through that, so it was, ‘OK, here we go again. What can we do to help Brett out to alleviate the burden on him so he can fight this battle and win?’ ”

Many ended up donating their vacation and sick leave to Skinner so he could take the time off he needed for chemotherapy.

That fall, he went in for a checkup, only to be told he would need to endure another round of treatment. Disheartened by the news, fellow officers were able to donate a little more time off for his treatment this spring.

“In a law enforcement community, we’re considered brothers and sisters. It’s no different than if a family member needed something from me, I’d be willing to donate it,” Thomas said.

Within just a few days, Skinner’s co-workers had donated enough time off for him to make it to short-term disability.

Brett Skinner undergoes a chemotherapy treatment. (Photo: Facebook)
Brett Skinner undergoes a chemotherapy treatment. (Photo: Facebook)

“(Police) actually need help also,” Thomas said. “And sometimes, we’re too proud to ask for help from the community and we do something in-house. And Skinner, there was a need for him, a call went out, and the people Ogden Police Department responded.”

When Skinner’s half-brother, Nick Faulkner, proposed a fundraiser motorcycle ride, Ogden Police Department and the Ogden Police Benefit offered a police escort for the ride, as well as help with permits and raffle donations.

The fundraiser,* Brett’s Battle Ride, will take place Saturday, June 29. They will begin the day with a car wash at Layton’s Triple Stop Chevron, then head over to Layton Cycle & Sports at 5 p.m. for a 52-mile ride around Pineview Reservoir in Ogden Canyon ending at Newgate Motorsports in Ogden. Proceeds will go to Skinner and his family.

“His attitude is such that he makes you feel upbeat because he has a positive attitude that he’s gonna beat it, it’s just another round,” Thomas said.


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UtahLifestyle
Celeste Tholen Rosenlof

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