One of Chandler’s newest cops patrols the streets he once lived on as a teenager

CHANDLER, AZ — Once homeless on the streets of Chandler as a teenager, Officer Jacob Bello now patrols those same streets as an officer with the Chandler Police Department.

On his route as a patrol officer, Bello passes by the places he used to live.

“The house I mentioned to you I grew up in, no electricity no running water, it was this house on the corner,” Bello said. “Growing up, it has been a tough life, seeing a lot of things a kid shouldn’t see.”

As a teenager he left home at 12 years old, bouncing from house to house and couch to couch. He would find places to stay briefly with family or friends, but never anything permanent.

“I didn’t have a lot of hope,” Bello said.

That was until he was 15, and he met Andy McIlveen and his wife Tammy, both then members of the Chandler Police Department. Bello had become friends with their daughter at school and expressed interest in a youth program McIlveen was in charge of.

When Andy and Tammy heard Jacob’s story, they knew they had to help.

“We told Jacob we’d give him a home,” Andy McIlveen said. “Not just a place to crash, but a permanent home.”

For Bello, hat was the start of the rest of his life, even if it wasn’t always easy.

“I came from no structure, no discipline, basically the streets,” Bello said. “It was me living on my own and figuring it out from there.”

Bello eventually found his path, graduating high school, then attending community college. It wasn’t long after when he decided to set his sights on following in his adopted father’s footsteps.

“I’ve seen who he is, how he is, his impact on others. I want to embody that,” Bello said.

Last year, Bello went to the police academy. Then this January, he got his badge. There was only one person he could imagine pinning it on him for the first time.

“Having the opportunity to pin his badge on his chest, was probably the proudest moment of my life,” McIlveen said.

“When he did, it was like the torch was being passed over,” Bello said. “It’s been a battle, been a challenge, but finally getting the badge, having it pinned on me by my role model, It was amazing.”