From the mean streets to the trawlers: a Tweed police officer memoir

WHAT began as a series of anecdotes from a former life on a Facebook group became a life’s work for Tweed man and former police officer, Gary Sutton.

From a humble upbringing amidst the Condong cane fields to the chaos of frontline law enforcement, Sutton’s newly released memoir is a candid story of service, sacrifice and survival.

After almost 20 years navigating the highs and lows of policing many in the Tweed region, A Moment in Time traces Sutton’s rural childhood through to the realities of crime scenes, courtrooms, and the PTSD and major depression that followed.

“I had a Facebook page called Seascape Trawler Watch (now Tweed Heads Trawlers and Fishermen) and I’d sometimes post small excerpts from my policing career, observations of an old man type thing, and people kept saying I should write a book,” he said.

“I wanted to write my life story for my grandchildren, as my parents never did it for me, and I would have loved to have known more about their lives, so I just started doing a chapter here and there.

“Then one day, I thought I’d better finish, or I might not get the opportunity, so I committed and did the best I could.”

A story of innocence, the bonds of policing, heartbreak, loss, and the silent battles fought long after the uniform comes off, the book presents a window into the real world behind the badge.

“I think I came through the best policing times, and I left about the time ice was coming in, which was the game changer,” Sutton said.

“The critics would talk about the corruption and all that bullshit, but honestly, 99 per cent of cops were straight up and down.

“It’s not like we looked up to people like Roger Rogerson – we didn’t, we found the whole thing appalling, and we felt naive and insulted, and betrayed by these bastards.

“I came from a different era, and it’s hard to reflect on today’s policing, but I’ve got to know quite a few police in the area here, and they are really under the pump.”

Retiring from the force in 1997 after a medical discharge, Sutton’s memoir also explores emotional resilience, family, and the personal cost of standing on the thin blue line.

“The book is about the work but also coming out the other side, burnt out by stress and slowly letting the cloud of depression lift to where I am today, sitting on the balcony of the Seascape building watching the trawlers coming up the river,” he said.

“I’ve put it all behind me, but it was very hard on the family.

“What can I say? That’s my life, on paper.”

A Moment in Time is available at Boardwalk Books in Kingscliff, or via inhousebookstore.com.au