SALT LAKE CITY — Like father, like sons.
A Utah Highway Patrol captain's two kids are following in his footsteps.
Born and raised in the Salt Lake valley, Wade Breur's dad was in the construction business. And as a young man, Wade thought he'd carry-on the family trade.
"I was making good money in construction, but the difference was just, I knew that I was not happy,” said the UHP Captain. “So I asked my wife, ‘hey, let me just give this a shot,’ and she said there was just a change in me when I started going through that."
Nearly three decades later, Capt. Breur says it's the best decision he's ever made.
"The return on the investment is way more than what you would ever even expect,’ he said. “And it's a weird dichotomy to think about all of the hard work that you do, and the effort that you put out, that comes back to you tenfold, always."
It all left a long and lasting impression on two of his young sons.
"When I was little, that's all I knew, right, was him as a police officer, and I thought he was the coolest person ever,” said UHP Corporal Quincey Breur.
"I just thought, this is the coolest thing ever,” said UHP Trooper Zach Breur. “I remember playing with my brothers, wanting to be on the SWAT team, different things like that, just thinking how cool that was, that did have a lasting effect."
But they didn't follow in dad's footsteps blindly.
Both went to Utah State and each embarked on very different careers.
Quincey in physical therapy, Zach in agriculture.
But much like their dad, both young men felt a different calling.
"I think, at least for me, I was in a job that I enjoyed doing, it was satisfying work, but there was something more for me,” Corporal Quincey said. "Each day I get to come to this job, I don't have to come to this job. It's something I enjoy doing, the people I work with and helping the public is very satisfying and rewarding."
Dad was cautiously supportive.
"Do you remember growing up as a Trooper son?” And I said; 'yeah, it was awesome! So he's like, OK."
Concern for officer safety goes with the territory for those who have loved ones in law enforcement.
But at the end of the day, the captain is proud of the careers his sons now have.
"But I know they've got good supervisors, we've given them good equipment, good training, you know all that kind of stuff,” Captain Wade Bruer said.
"We usually have talks at Sunday dinners and stuff,” Corporal Quincy Bruer said. “Getting together and hashing out all the things that we did that week and whose story is cooler, it's pretty fun."
