BORN AND RAISED IN THIS CITY, AND KEEPING IT SAFE FOR 50 YEARS.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

They kept the police badges in an old cigar box in the back of the station when John Brooks first reported for duty as a San Fernando Police Department reserve officer 50 years ago.

``I'd walk in, grab a badge out of the cigar box, pin it on my khaki shirt, and go walk a beat,'' the 76-year-old Brooks says.

``There were only three of us then, the first reserve officers in the city. The other two have passed on.

``We had to buy whatever we needed -- gun, belt, handcuffs, even ammunition. There was no training. We learned on the streets.

``I made my first drunk driving arrest on foot. A little girl stopped me and said some man had tried to talk her into his car. I stood behind a pole, and when he came around the corner again I jumped out and told him to pull over to the curb.

``The minute I stuck my head in the window, I smelled the alcohol. I arrested him for drunk driving, and the little girl went home safe.''

The little girl went home safe. That, in a nutshell, is why John Brooks has spent the last 50 years reporting for duty at a job he never got paid for -- to get the children of San Fernando home safe.

``I was raising four kids of my own, and I wanted my town to be safe for everybody's kids and grandkids. I just didn't know I'd stick around doing it for so long.''

His town. In a way, San Fernando is his town. John was born and raised here, and still lives in the same house he and his wife, Arlene, bought almost 50 years ago.

His great-grandfather, Geronimo Lopez, was 16 years old when he was sent out by Mexican Gen. Andres Pico with a white flag to surrender to American Gen. John C. Fremont in 1848 at a site that is now roughly where the 5 and 14 freeways merge.

``They signed the peace treaty at the San Fernando Mission,'' says John, who made his living as a park policeman for Los Angeles County.

His great-grandfather's adobe -- Casa Lopez -- at 1100 S. Maclay St., is now a city historical museum. Twice a month -- on the second Wednesday and fourth Sunday -- John opens it to the public for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. It's closed this month, but reopens in December.

``If you were to look for the definition of `class' in the dictionary, it would say, `See John Brooks,''' said Vito Scattaglia, at John's retirement party this month.

Vito is commander of the 28 reserve officers now serving on the San Fernando Police Department, and has been a reserve officer for 34 years.

``John's a low-key guy, solid as a rock. He hasn't been on patrol in seven or eight years because he's been too valuable as our division range master, making sure all our reserve officers are firearms-proficient.

``You can't replace the dedication and years John has given this city,'' Vito says. ``All you can do is shake his hand and say thank you.''

The department doesn't keep the badges in an old cigar box anymore, and every reserve officer today has been through Los Angeles County Sheriff's Academy training before being sent out on patrol, but the reasons for taking the volunteer job haven't changed in 50 years, John says.

``The men and women volunteering as reserve officers today are doing it for the same reason I did back in 1956,'' he says. ``They want to see our kids get home safe.''

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John Brooks, who is 76 years old, was one of the first reserve officers for the San Fernando Police Department. He recently retired after 50 years of service.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer