Man who spent entire life in law enforcement ‘loved nothing more than being a police officer’

Mike Brockman worked for Butler County Sheriff’s Office for nearly 40 years

As a kid growing up in Hamilton, Michael “Mike” Brockman always wanted to be a police officer.

He certainly realized his dream. Brockman, a former St. Clair Twp. Police Department sergeant, corporal in the Butler County Sheriff’s Office and instructor at Butler Tech Police Academy, died Feb. 1. He was 65.

“His legacy is forever etched into the minds of those he worked with,” the BCSO wrote on its Facebook page.

Brockman graduated from Hamilton Taft High School in 1974 and Miami University in 1976. After starting his career in the security department at Champion International in Hamilton, he served as a sergeant in the St. Clair Twp. Police Department.

Brockman began his nearly 40 years of service with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office as a special deputy from Jan. 10, 1978 through September of 1982. He worked for St. Clair Twp. from September of 1982 to June of 1992.

He then returned to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office as a special deputy in July of 1992 until October of 1998 when he was hired as a deputy sheriff/court services. He was promoted to the rank of deputy on Sept. 23, 2000 and promoted to the rank of corporal on Sept. 4, 2013 until his retirement on Jan. 5, 2018.

“He loved nothing more than being a police officer,” said Peggy Brockman, his wife of 21 years. “Law was first, teaching was second. He was always about helping people. He was a committed man. He was good at what he did.”

Then when he retired, Brockman was “lost” until it was time to teach at the academy, his wife said.

“It hurt my soul for him,” she said. “Police work was all he ever wanted to do. You know how some kids say they want to do ‘this or that’ later in life. Well, he did exactly what he wanted.”

He was a member of Hugh L. Bates No. 686 F & A.M. Masonic Lodge and a huge Cincinnati Bengals fan.

Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m., Tuesday at the Avance Funeral Home & Crematory, 4976 Winton Road, Fairfield. Funeral services will be 10 a.m., Wednesday at the funeral home with Chaplain Frank Smith officiating. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Burial Park.

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