Mary Toomey

Photos by Gary Higgins

Police officer, Braintree

Tell us about yourself.

"I couldn't ask for better people to work with. I enjoy working with the school department."

"It is a much different world than when I was growing up. The Internet is of great concern to me. Children are so trusting. They do not realize once it's in cyberspace, it is out there forever. They say things online they would never say in person."

"The best thing about my job is when a kid you helped with guidance or advice years later comes back and says, 'Thank you.'"

THE SKINNY

RANK: Patrol officer

AGE: 54

HIRED IN BRAINTREE: 1986

BIO: Toomey grew up in Dorchester, the oldest of five children. She had four younger brothers. She attended Cardinal Cushing High School in South Boston before joining the Army. She later worked as a corrections officer at the women's prison in Framingham and then the hospital unit at Lemuel Shattuck Hospital. Toomey and another woman became the first female police officers in Braintree. She has been the school resource officer for 13 years. Most of her day is spent at the high school. She has been involved in safety programs, residency checks, truancy and juvenile issues. Toomey and her husband, Jack, have been married for 16 years. They have two sons, John, 15, and Jeremy, 14.

What would you have been if not a police officer?" .I would probably still be a corrections officer."

Best advice you ever got:"Always tell on yourself if you make a mistake rather than have someone else tell on you."

Person who gave it to you: Friend and colleague Lt. John McCarthy

What do you do in your spare time? "Cooking, reading, movies, some reality television, gardening, trivia, relaxing at my pool."