By Laurie O’Neill — Correspondent
Making the career move from bank officer to police officer is quite a leap, but for David Braga, it meant fulfilling a lifelong aspiration.
Braga, who cannot remember when he didn’t want to get involved in law enforcement, is a new Concord police officer who joined the force in recent months. The 36-year-old grew up in Somerville and currently hails from Woburn.
Braga and his wife, Jessica, a teacher, have a 6-month-old daughter, Isabella, whom he dotes on and loves spending time with.
For 14 years, Braga was a banker. When he left that profession, he was an assistant vice president in Bank of America’s small business banking department, handling commercial loans. Braga had been working from home through the pandemic and experiencing the sense of isolation and lack of stimulation many remote workers can relate to.
Last year, Braga finally decided to set off on the road not taken and pursue police work. That meant six months of training at the Police Academy in Lynnfield, during which his excitement about his new path never diminished.
Since Braga joined the force, he has been busy with “community policing,” a role tied to his department’s mission “to deliver exceptional service” to the town.
Concord has “a high pedestrian concentration,” Braga said, “and I want everyone to be safe.”
You might spy the officer downtown or across Route 2 in West Concord, watching for drivers on cell phones, ensuring pedestrians can cross busy intersections safely, tagging speeding cars, responding to accidents, or conducting many other types of police business. Braga recently provided security for ballot tabulating on Election Day at the Town House.
“Every day is different,” Braga said, something he didn’t have while working remotely. He also missed having “a strong sense of teamwork, which is vitally important in police work.” Now, “I never know what to expect each day, but I always know I have a team behind me.”
Braga is one of four new officers who recently joined the Concord department.
Justin Tarnowski transferred from the College of the Holy Cross police department. Michael Burman and Wolfgang Angulo were hired and trained by the Concord department and graduated from the Lynnfield Police Academy in January.
