WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Two metro Detroit officers are giving back to the same high school that they attended as students.
As they flipped through pages of old yearbooks, it brought back fond memories for officers DeAndre Tucker, who graduated from Lincoln High School in Warren in 2009, and Adnan Durrani, who graduated from the school in 1993.
"It was super fun. I had a great time," Tucker said.
"I just recall all the great memories that I had with my friends in these hallways," Durrani said.
Their careers in law enforcement took them down different path, but both knew exactly where they wanted to end up.
"When I was 13 years old, my dad used to drop me off at the middle school and the high school and I used to tell him back in the day, 35 years ago, that I want to be a Warren police officer one day," Durrani said.
Not only are Durrani and Tucker now with the Warren Police Department, they also serve as resource officers at their alma mater. Some of their old teachers are still in the classroom.
"Most places, you go into work and you don’t know anybody, so it was an easy transition," Tucker said.
Their role allows them to address typical problems that may pop up in schools.
"Your bullying, sometimes you get a little bit of fights here and there, but the new thing is social media," Tucker said.
But the officers said what makes the job special is the opportunity to build connections with students whose shoes they were once in.
"I like to make sure kids know that they can approach a uniformed officer. We’re not always arresting bad guys; we’re here to help them," Durrani said. "I’m here to show them what I did when I was in school here and you can become what you want to be."
"I tell them minimize their mistakes because you're going to make mistakes, but mistakes don’t define you," Tucker said.
Piper Bognar, superintendent of Van Dyke Public Schools, said Tucker and Duranni’s presence has been crucial.
"Some of the students will go to them as a confidant when they wouldn’t go to anyone else. Some of the families will do the same," Bognar said.
Warren Lt. and Public Information Officer John Gajewski said the two resource officers are examples of what connecting with the community is all about.
"Officers Tucker and Duranni will tell you stories about how students who graduated come back to see them. If that doesn’t show you that what they’re doing is making a difference, I don’t know what does," he said.
