He has always been driven. At South Oak Cliff High School, he was voted most intellectual and most likely to succeed.
In 1983, Brown, sporting an Afro, joined the police department. He wanted to fight crime in his neighborhood, and was excited when he was assigned to patrol the area.
"I grew up in a hot spot and wanted to do something about it, not just complain about it," Brown said last year.
As an African-American cop, Brown sees himself as both black and blue, not one or the other. Improving relations between police and the community has been a cornerstone of his tenure. He holds regular Chief on the Beat events to meet people and sends his officers out for Coffee With Cops throughout the city. He's talked about the need for police departments to show that the police care about community concerns.