Brown Deer police officer retires after 35 years on the job

BROWN DEER (WITI) -- There was a celebration in Brown Deer on Wednesday, January 8th for a Brown Deer police officer retiring after 35 years.

Ted Kern is a patrol officer with the Brown Deer Police Department and has been keeping the community safe since 1979.

On Wednesday, the police department hosted a ceremony to help him kick off his retirement -- complete with a cake.

FOX6 News had the chance to talk with Officer Kern about what inspired him to become a police officer.

"I was just inspired by shows like Adam-12 and the writings of Joseph Wambaugh's 'The New Centurions' that made police work sound interesting," Kern said.

Kern says it has been an honor to work with such great people in such a great community.