A theme among those who spoke in remembrance of slain Clark County Sheriff’s Detective Jeremy Brown emerged during a ceremony for him as they painted a picture of a man whose dedication to his jobs as law enforcement and father shone through as much as his humor.
Clark County Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy John Horch, Brown’s boss, said on Aug. 3 that he “had a gift for making people laugh like no other,” saying his humor led to the coining of the phrase “Brownisms” in the department. Horch explained a Brownism was “a phrase or comment that Jeremy would use that didn’t always make sense and sometimes requires translation.”
“One time Jeremy was asked how sure he was about a situation and he replied ‘I’m 9 out of 10 percent sure,’” Horch said. “We tried figuring that one out for several days and that’s a math problem we never quite get.”
Horch described Brown — also known as “J-bone” or “Brownie” at the sheriff’s office, as “a fierce warrior mixed with a caring, lovable spirit of service” during the ceremony at ilani. Thousands gathered either for the service itself or to watch a procession of law enforcement bring his casket along Interstate 5 from Clark College.
Horch said he worked with Brown almost daily for four years while he was assigned to the drug task force. He recalled having breakfast together the morning of the shooting.
Horch said he and Brown became close during their work careers with mutual respect among the two. Though his subordinate would call his boss his mentor, Horch said Brown taught himself “how to show grace, mercy and kindness.”
“I never knew what Jeremy might say to me next, whether it was bringing up work issues that others may shy away from, or what he ate that day,” Horch said. “I’m honored that he was comfortable confiding in me and I loved hearing him out.”
Brown was fatally shot in Vancouver on July 23 while working surveillance. Three suspects, including his alleged killer, have been arrested and face charges up to first-degree aggravated murder in Clark County Superior Court.
A warrior and family man
“Jeremy was my everything. Those of you that knew him are definitely thinking ‘amen, mine, too,’ because that’s just who he was, the most sincere, honest, loyal, loving and driven man that one could ever know,” said Brown’s wife Jill.
Jill Brown said her late husband “did not just have the heart of a lion, he was a lion,” adding he “walked life with a quiet, humble strength that cannot be explained, it just was.”
“He lived to serve and protect, and he has made the ultimate sacrifice,” Jill Brown said.
Born in 1974, Jeremy Brown was raised in Sweet Home, Oregon, his son, Gage, said in a eulogy. A high school athlete who “lived for football,” Gage Brown recounted a story he heard of his father in one game where the opposing team tried everything they could to avoid Jere,u Brown, a fullback.
“He was a warrior and they knew it,” Gage Brown said.
The elder Brown entered the Marines as a military police officer before serving as a reserve officer while going to school in Montana, his son said, eventually working at Larch Correctional Facility and the Clark County Jail before working for the sheriff’s office in 2008.
Gage Brown said his father served as sheriff’s deputy, school resource officer and marine patrol before joining the drug task force, adding he was master instructor for the sheriff office’s defensive tactics program. He said the oftentimes strict parenting of his father seemed “controlling and unnecessary” in the children’s youths, “but looking back he was just doing his job and each of us are grateful for those boundaries he tried so hard to create for us.”
Gage Brown said his father served as a voice of reason, with expectations of his children often presented as “recommendations.”
“I’ll be honest, I did not always take his advice, but when things went sideways he never said ‘I told you so.’ He would just help me get back on track and move forward with me — no shame, no guilt, just extreme patience, love and understanding,” Gage Brown said.
He said his father “was a man of integrity, honest to a fault, sensitive, resilient and wicked smart,”
Though his father faced adversity in his life, “it never made him bitter. It inspired him to be better,” Gage Brown said.
Jeremy Brown’s son reflected on the occasions his father would now miss, including the marriages of three of his children. Jeremy Brown was supposed to be Gage Brown’s best man. He said his father “completely adored” his seven grandchildren.
“The camera roll on his phone was nothing but happy, beautiful babies, and he was pretty proud of that,” his son said.
Gage Brown said being out in nature was how his father recharged, along with his wife.
“They loved wandering together, always going somewhere or in the middle of planning their next adventure,” Gage Brown said. “Being outside in nature, preferably out near the water, was his therapy.”
Jeremy Brown approached new things with intensity, his son said, mentioning specifically when his dad went all-in on sailing without any prior knowledge of the hobby.
“He went out and bought a 27-foot (sailing boat) and taught himself, mostly using Youtube, and that’s no joke,” Gage Brown said.
Jeremy Brown’s sister, Julie Savolainen, agreed with Gage Brown, saying her brother “wasn’t a dreamer, he was a doer.” She remarked on her brother’s ability to succeed given the adversity he faced in his youth.
“(Jeremy Brown) faced hard challenges as a kid and life could have gone into many, many different directions,” Savolainen said.
She recalled her brother saying through his time spent in the Marines that he “went in a boy and came out a man.”
Savolainen said their father was killed when Jeremy Brown was 2, adding that her brother “always wanted a dad … he became one.”
“Jeremy wasn’t just my brother, he was my best friend, and he stepped up to be the closest thing to a father figure that I will ever know,” Savolainen said.
Savolainen said her brother was “the glue that held our family together,” adding that keeping his growing family together was “hands down his top priority.” She said her brother felt one day his life would be cut short.
“When you remember Jeremy, I hope you remember him as one who nobly served and put his life on the line for his country, his community, his family, his friends, and those that he didn’t even know,” Savolainen said. “I can’t think of anything more honorable.”
A law enforcement champion
The event space at ilani was filled with members of law enforcement from across the nation, including ones from Chicago, Dallas and New York, Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins said. He said while he didn’t have the level of connection with Jeremy Brown as others had, he said his impact was evident in the aftermath of his shooting.
He thanked the hospital staff at PeaceHealth Southwest, other law enforcement agencies that allowed the sheriff’s office to be together following Jeremy Brown’s death, the investigation team, the “soup lady” who fed the sheriff’s office, the Behind the Badge Foundation and other community members who showed their support.
Atkins’ final thanks went to Jeremy Brown’s family, whose love for each other became evident to the sheriff in the days following the detective’s death.
“Jeremy loved his job at the sheriff’s office, but he fully understood that his job was down the list of importance, and that his faith and his family and his friends came first,” Atkins said.
Jeremy Brown was posthumously promoted to sergeant following his death.
After discussing the more humorous times, Horch turned the focus to the state of law enforcement in the past few years, something he said Jeremy Brown planned to focus on when he retired from active service.
“Jeremy does not get to enjoy retirement. He was murdered for doing his job — murdered while trying to take guns off the street — and he has earned the right to be heard,” Horch said. “Bravery in the face of evil is what cops show every day. Jeremy was not afraid to confront issues and have real dialogue to provide peace and stability to all our lives.”
Horch hoped those in attendance would take Jeremy Brown’s death as a call to action in support of the profession.
“Don’t let this be another law enforcement funeral that you’re just sad about. Be courageous, just like he was, in any role you’re in,” Horch said.
