By John Scheibe
Ventura County Star
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. — A Navy veteran made law enforcement history in Ventura County on Thursday by becoming the first amputee not only to graduate from the sheriff’s training academy but also to don the uniform of an Oxnard Police Department officer.
“This is a happy day for all of us,” Aaron Heldreth, 31, said as he stood outside the Oxnard Performing Arts Center on Thursday afternoon in full uniform, surrounded by family members, including his wife and two daughters.
Heldreth, along with 45 other law enforcement graduates, had just taken the stage inside, graduating from a grueling six-month course at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Justice Training Center in Camarillo. Participants not only must learn the details that go with being a law enforcement officer, but also must show a high level of physical fitness.
Heldreth’s left leg was amputated below the knee after an October 2008 car accident in San Diego. He’d just turned 22 and had been in the Navy for about five years at the time.
Afterward, he underwent numerous operations, including three amputations on his lower left leg. But within less than a year, he rejoined his Navy dive team after being outfitted with a high-tech prosthetic. He continued to serve in the Navy for about eight years, said his wife, Crystal Brewer.
“His job in the Navy was dangerous,” Brewer said Thursday as she recalled her husband’s job as a diver in numerous Navy missions around the world.
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Asked if she was worried about his new role as an Oxnard police officer, she said, “I know he’s more than capable of meeting the demands of the job.”
As for the high physical demands on those in the training academy and for police officers, Heldreth took it all in stride. So did his wife, as she recalled how he won gold medals in two swimming events at the 2011 Wounded Warrior Games. He’s also a speedy runner.
About two years ago, after the couple’s second daughter, Adriana, was born, Heldreth said he began considering a new career. He’d earned a bachelor’s degree and had graduated with honors with a nearly 4.0 grade-point average.
Heldreth spoke to numerous recruiters during a career fair in 2015 and again in 2016.
“One of the areas I was considering was law enforcement,” he said, recalling how he eventually spoke with an Oxnard police recruiter. Heldreth said he had some doubts that law enforcement agencies would hire an amputee.
But those doubts quickly disappeared after he spoke with the Oxnard recruiter. The department was very receptive to having Heldreth on the force, his wife said.
And so began his journey to becoming a sworn Oxnard police officer. He is believed to be the first amputee hired by a Ventura County law enforcement agency as an officer.
“I think he’s going to do an awesome job,” Eric Sonstegard, Oxnard’s assistant chief of police, said as he stood next to Heldreth on Thursday.
Heldreth is especially happy the job will allow him to stay in Oxnard, where he’s lived for many years.
“This is my home, and I’m so happy I’ll be able to raise my family here,” Heldreth said.
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©2017 Ventura County Star (Camarillo, Calif.)