BALTIMORE — For some veterans, service doesn’t end when the military uniform comes off. For Detective Brendan Cassidy, it simply took on a new form.
WATCH: Serving in a different uniform: How one Baltimore detective continues his mission
Cassidy is a detective in the Family and Intimate Partner Violence Unit with the Baltimore Police Department, and he was also a major in the Maryland Army National Guard.
His journey of service began in 2009, when he enlisted in the New Jersey Army National Guard and was later commissioned in 2010. In 2016, he transferred to the Maryland Army National Guard.
Over the course of his military career, Cassidy says he has responded to hurricanes and civil disturbances, particpiated in the COVID-19 response, and spent one year overseas.
Although policing and military service are different professions, Cassidy says they share important similarities.
“Military service and policing may be two very different jobs, but one thing is consistent—everything is a team effort,” he said. “Nobody is able to get anything done without building partnerships.”
Cassidy says the values he learned while serving continue to guide the work he does today.
“In the military, like in policing, you kind of need to be ready to think quick on your feet,” he said.
It was a National Guard deployment during Hurricane Sandy that ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in law enforcement.
“Watching the men and women of these police forces—so calm, so professional, methodical, but also just very human, very empathetic,” Cassi
dy said. “That’s what made me think, wow… maybe that’s a job I want to do myself.”
He applied to the Baltimore Police Department just one month later.
Years afterward, during COVID-19 relief efforts with the Maryland Army National Guard, Cassidy again found himself serving in Baltimore, sometimes in the same neighborhoods where he had once worked as a patrol officer.
“It made me appreciate it that much more,” he said.
Cassidy is now part of BPD Valor, a group that recognizes and supports veterans within the department.
“While the jobs are different, there are a lot of qualities that definitely carry over between the two,” he said. “There is a unique spirit of service that kind of really unites everyone here and in the military.”