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When Mommies Carry Handcuffs

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By KYLE MARTIN

Published: May 10, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - My mommy can arrest your mommy.

How's that for schoolyard bragging rights? Law enforcement is just one of the many careers held

by the women honored today on Mother's Day.

Deputy Sebrina O'Banner is among their number, not just as a mother to two children but a

grandmother of six. So how does one switch off "cop mode" and become a mother at home? Vice

versa, what's the trick to clearing the mind of school projects and earaches when the shift begins?
O'Banner, 46, provided some answers

in an interview Thursday at Powell Middle School, where she's served as the school resource officer for five years.
Of all her family, it's actually her 9-year-old granddaughter who gets the biggest kick out of seeing O'Banner in uniform. She's already announced her intentions to go to college and become a "police lady."

Her children are not as verbal, but they've left clues. O'Banner is one of the deputies

profiled on a series of the sheriff's office's "baseball cards." Her husband and children each have one mounted on their dashboard.
"I've never mentioned it, before," O'Banner said, "But I can tell they're proud of me."
Like other professions with 12-hour shifts — nursing comes to mind — odd hours can strain relationships.

There were times O'Banner would come home ready to crash just as her daughters were headed out

the door for school. To make up for the lost time, O'Banner tried to plan trips to the mall or

the beach on her days off. If parents don't provide that loving relationship, the children

will search for it in friends you might not approve of, she explained.
"The main thing is just being there for your children," O'Banner

said.
She does her best to separate work and home life, but it's not always easy. Between the two, taking work home is the toughest habit to shake, she says.
Sometimes before falling asleep her mind rewrites the day's reports or she replays a pursuit in her head. Her cop instincts don't turn off just because the day is over.

O'Banner is usually keeping an eye out for stolen vehicles or people with warrants.
"You see the world differently," she explains.
But O'Banner also has her nurturing, motherly instincts to fall back on, too. That's been an invaluable asset during her tenure at a middle school, where every day brings a different drama. She calls her office at the school on Barclay Avenue "the dumping ground" because it's often the place where students unload their worries.

Acting out in class often has its roots in trouble at home, so talking it out releases some of that pressure.
When students are on the brink of a fight, O'Banner explains what the consequences would be if they carried it out. Is it really worth suspension and possibly criminal charges to duke it out over second-hand rumors, she asks. But it can't be left at that.

O'Banner's philosophy is to follow up a few days later and make sure that the problem is solved.

"I make sure in my heart that I've done everything I can do," she said. This Mother's Day, O'Banner will spend time in typical fashion with the rest of the clan in her native Brooksville. Gifts will be passed around for all the mothers and grandmothers; usually she gets a bottle of White Diamonds perfume, her favorite.
"But the real gift to me is just being with to me is just being with family," she said.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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