When Darrel Brown reported for his usual shift with the Knoxville Police Department on Friday morning, he was greeted by representatives of the Knoxville VFW Post…who honored him as their Police Officer of the Year.

Officer Brown was chosen by the local members of the VFW in recognition of his nearly 28 years of service on the police force.

He tells KNIA/KRLS News the award was a complete surprise to him, and he’s grateful to the veterans for recognizing him, and to Knoxville in general for allowing him to serve.

“Yeah, it’s really neat; I really thank the whole community and the VFW; it’s really awesome…what makes it worth it is seeing the community, being happy and being able to help everybody out,” Officer Brown says.

He not only won the local award, but was chosen as Officer of the Year for the VFW’s regional district, which covers Des Moines and the surrounding cities and counties.

This puts Officer Brown in the running for statewide recognition, which will be decided on in a couple of months. Brown will retire in November, according to the Knoxville Police Department.