Constable "forever grateful" for life-changing conversation

When First Constable Yusuf Husen started his working life as a motor mechanic, he never thought he’d have friendly conversation with a cop, let alone the one next door.

But that cop was a self-professed ‘country bloke’, with a long-held belief that it never hurts to say ‘g’day’.

“Meeting Inspector Brett Sampson changed my life,” First Const Husen said.

“It all started back in Preston in 2017. I was working as a mechanic, and Insp Sampson was the officer in charge of the Victoria Police Vehicle Impound Support Unit next door.

“My lunch used to be around 12pm, and Insp Sampson would be out having his, saying hi to everyone as he walked down the street, including me.”

At the time, First Const Husen was living in the ‘Flemington flats’, one of Melbourne’s housing commission towers, where some of his peers didn’t have a good relationship with police.

“Having grown up in the flats, it was normal to avoid police, and normal to have the belief that police don’t make your life easier, they make your life harder,” First Const Husen said.

“But because Insp Sampson was so approachable, and police always intrigued me, I would say hi back to him as he walked past.”

Every time Insp Sampson said hello, First Const Husen’s curiosity in policing grew.

And eventually, the pair had a conversation – one that First Const Husen says changed the way he saw police.

The ripple effect

“You have this idea of what a police officer is like in your head, but Insp Sampson, he didn’t want me to care or worry about the uniform, he wanted me to see him as another member of the community,” First Const Husen said.

“So one day, he actually stopped me for a chat and said, ‘Don’t worry about this’, pointing to his uniform, and asked me how I was going.

“He then asked whether I liked my job. And when I replied with, ‘No, no I don’t’, he said, ‘Well why don’t you join us?’”

But First Const Husen didn’t think the option was on the table.

“I said there was no chance I could join Victoria Police. I can’t swim, am no good at maths, all of that stuff,” he said.

“But Insp Sampson said, ‘There are people who can help you with that’, spoke to me about the Victoria Police Diversity Recruitment Program, and told me to go home and Google a couple of things, including the Victoria Police African Employee Network.”

That night, he did exactly that.

And within a year, unbeknownst to Insp Sampson, First Const Husen had enrolled in a 15-week course at Victoria University, where he spent every night after work studying, learning to swim, and preparing to become a police officer.

“I was accepted into the Diversity Recruitment Program that Insp Sampson had told me about, and once I had finished at Victoria University, I thought, ‘Alright, I've learnt to swim, I'm good at maths now – I think I’m ready to join Victoria Police’,” First Const Husen said.

A new chapter

To start his career with the force, he became a police custody officer (PCO) and spent two years at Mill Park Police Station, before applying to become a police officer.

“I started at the Academy as a police recruit in January 2023, and it was the best experience ever,” First Const Husen said.

“And now that I’m a police officer, I love my job.”

After completing his probationary training at Mernda, he then moved to Wallan, where he’s been for almost three years.

“Wallan has been an amazing place to work so far, and I get to do lots of road policing, which I’m loving,” First Const Husen said.

“But I’m glad I started out as a PCO, because by the time I started as a police officer, I had a really good understanding of what the job involved.”

Adamant his career change wouldn’t have been possible without Insp Sampson, First Const Husen wanted to reconnect with him, so he could share the good news.

But having tried to find Insp Sampson previously, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

“When I became a PCO in 2020, I went running back to the Impound Support Unit to find Insp Sampson and tell him that I had followed his advice,” First Const Husen said.

“I was excited to talk to him, you know, because I was about to start my career with Victoria Police. But when I got there, they said he had moved on.”

So the next time around, in March this year, he decided he would make use of the force’s internal address book.

But there was just one problem.

He could only remember Insp Sampson’s first name.

“I scrolled through all of the Victoria Police members named ‘Brett’, and there were so many,” First Const Husen said.

“Until I came across the name ‘Inspector Brett Sampson’, which immediately looked familiar, so I thought, ‘That has to be him’.”

And to his relief, it was.

Making contact

Insp Sampson, now Local Area Commander of the Campaspe Police Service Area in Victoria’s west, arrived at work one morning to find an email from First Const Husen in his inbox.

“I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face,” Insp Sampson said.

“I remembered meeting Yusuf [First Const Husen] when he was a motor mechanic, and he was just a lovely fella. So to find out he had gone from hating his job to becoming a copper, and loving it, was just amazing.”

In his email, First Const Husen said Insp Sampson’s guidance ‘changed his life tremendously’.

But to Insp Sampson, he simply did what any genuine, country bloke would do.

“When I saw him walking past our unit, I would say g’day, and when I found out that he couldn’t become a copper even if he wanted to, because of the barriers he faced, I did what I could to help. But I never thought that the conversation would have the impact that it did,” Insp Sampson said.

“My family come from a dairy-farming background, and I was brought up in the country where being authentic and showing genuine care for the community is part of life.

“And that’s why you join the police force, right? That was my reason 25 years ago. Because doing what you can for others, and taking the time to make time for people, is what life’s all about.”

He was thrilled to read that the young mechanic he’d known as ‘Yusuf’ had successfully joined Victoria Police.

But he was lost for words by the time he reached the last few lines.

“At the end of the email, Yusuf wrote, ‘I wish I had met you in earlier in my life, because I have the best job in the world, and I am forever grateful to you for it’, which to be honest, completely overwhelmed me,” Insp Sampson said.

“And not much overwhelms me.”

Reunited at last

Word of the pair’s story travelled fast, and by April, their colleagues had begun organising a reunion at Wallan Police Station.

Superintendent Brett Kahan, Divisional Commander for Wallan and surrounds, coordinated the occasion – not only as First Const Husen’s boss, but as a good friend of Insp Sampson’s.

“I’ve known Insp Sampson since we worked together back in 2019, and the fact that he took the time to chat with Yusuf [First Const Husen] and provide him with life-changing guidance is certainly not a surprise,” Supt Kahan said.

“I know he’s humble and says it’s all part of the job, but he’s completely underselling himself.

“Brett [Insp Sampson] should be very proud of the impact he has had on Yusuf’s life. Because I just know that this is one of those sliding door moments, where if he wasn’t working in Preston back in 2017, Yusuf may not be the valued police member he is today.”

Proving just how valued he is, Supt Kahan added that Yusuf has not only made an impact in the community, but also at the station.

“His energy and passion for the job is truly contagious,” Supt Kahan said.

“We’d bottle him up if we could.”

After a well-earned break from work, First Const Husen arrived at Wallan Police Station for a Monday afternoon shift.

And to his surprise, so did Insp Sampson.

“I was so happy to see him, and it was immediately clear that he hadn’t changed at all,” First Const Husen said.

“Despite his senior rank, he had the same calm and personable manner I recalled from our first meeting, and the exact same smile.”

Policing side-by-side

As if the occasion wasn’t special enough, Supt Kahan took it up a notch, arranging for the duo to head out on patrol together.

In between registration checks and random roadside breath tests, the pair caught up on the past nine years of their lives – filling in the gaps between their last conversation in Preston, and their long-awaited reunion.

“Working alongside Insp Sampson on traffic duty was so much fun,” First Const Husen said.

“In a short time, he taught me a lot. And his ability to recall offence codes from memory was very impressive.”

First Const Husen even told Insp Sampson about his career goals, having already given plenty of thought to his future with the force.

“I want to work in road policing, partly because I have the mechanical knowledge, but mostly because I want to help keep people safe on the roads – particularly young people, and people from diverse backgrounds who don’t have a good understanding of the road rules,” First Const Husen said.

He also aspires to pave the way for his Somalian colleagues and future recruits.

“When I joined Victoria Police, I became the first Somalian PCO and police officer. Not that it’s a competition, but when I was going through the Academy, it was motivating – the idea of being the first to represent my community,” he said.

“I thought, ‘I’m not going to let anyone else beat me to it!’ And I didn’t. So now, I’m aiming to become the first Somalian highway patrol member.”

A lasting impact

As the pair drove around the streets of Wallan, discussing tips, tricks and their next intercept, Insp Sampson watched First Const Husen proudly.

“When we struck up a friendship back in Preston, I could see that he was a happy-go-lucky person – it was just part of his nature,” Insp Sampson said.

“Not being able to swim, or do maths, didn’t matter. And I couldn’t see his apprehension to talk to me either. I just saw his positive attitude and ability to strike up conversation, and those traits make a good cop.”

Unsurprisingly, Insp Sampson still holds the belief that there’s no harm in saying ‘g’day’ – perhaps even more firmly than he did back in 2017.

“Yusuf’s success just goes to show that our actions, big or small, really can make a difference,” Insp Sampson said.

“My only regret is that I wasn’t there when he came back to find me.

“But to see Yusuf become the first Somalian copper, and wear the uniform with so much pride, is fantastic, and I feel honoured to have played a part in his journey.”

First Const Yusuf Husen is now a police officer, member of Victoria Police’s African Employee Network, and a proud graduate of the force’s Diversity Recruitment Program.

In his spare time, Yusuf also teaches multicultural Victorians how to swim, making time for members of his local community, just like Insp Sampson.

To read more about the support available to aspiring police officers, visit police officer careers(opens in a new window).