The following nomination letter was written by John King, Provo City Chief of Police:
After serving our country in the United States Marine Corps, Sergeant Taylor joined the Provo Police Department in 2004. During the winter of 2014, while assigned to the graveyard patrol shift, the Sergeant was concerned for the welfare of the homeless people that he and his officers encountered during the winter nights. After doing some research Sergeant Taylor discovered an organization in Michigan that employed homeless people to make winter coats which converted into sleeping bags.
Sergeant Taylor raised enough money to buy 26 of those coats/sleeping bags and he distributed them to homeless people in need. Currently Sergeant Taylor is the supervisor of our School Resource Officers and has a meaningful impact on the safety of the children who attend school in Provo.
Sergeant Taylor has taken an active role in increasing the dialogue between our police officers and the minority members we serve. He actively participates in our quarterly “Conversations on Race,” and attends community rallies.
In the Summer of 2015 Brian Taylor worked with a member of our Citizens Advisory Board to create a program which brought our officers and community members closer together. The “Summer of Fun” Series was repeated this year. Once a month during the summer season each of our four patrol areas of the city hosted an event in which police cooked hotdogs for our community. In addition to having positive conversations in a casual atmosphere each event had an interactive component wherein we played a game (volleyball, kickball, soccer and Frisbee)
Each and every day Sergeant Taylor comes to work looks for ways to make our city safer and to increase the level of trust between the police and the people we serve.