Ever since he was a little boy, Tony Reid of Townley had dreamed of growing up to become a police officer. Earlier this month, his childhood dream finally came true.

Reid graduated from the Alabama Police Academy on Thursday, Nov. 1, and became a full-fledged patrol officer with the Parrish Police Department.

“Tony’s a good kid and I think he’s going to make a fine police officer,” Parrish Police Chief Nick Smith said. “He’s a hard worker and has good work ethics. And his training as a volunteer firefighter is an added asset for the Parrish Police Department.”

Reid, who was raised by his grandparents Gary and Sherry Reid of Townley, is also a volunteer firefighter with Saragossa Fire and Rescue in Walker County.

“I joined the volunteer fire department at Saragossa when I was 18, and I was really torn between whether or not to choose a career in fire service or law enforcement,” Reid said. “But as a volunteer firefighter, I can do both at the same time.”

Reid started out with the Parrish Police Department as a reserve officer before being hired as a dispatcher and now a patrol officer.

Reid said one of the biggest influences in his life is his uncle who is also a police officer, so it wasn’t hard to follow in his footsteps.

“My uncle, Dennis Reid, works for the Trussville Police Department, and I’ve looked up to him all my life. I thought it was neat the way he helped people,” Reid said. “So it wasn’t hard to decide what I wanted to do, which was serve the public in some way. Now I get to do it two ways — as a firefighter and a police officer.”