Sergeant Johnsey Vann, #8299 and Sergeant Aundrea Vann, #8983

The Dallas Police Department will add 35 officers to the rank of Sergeant today, in addition to five Lieutenants and three Majors. The promotion ceremony is a special day for the honorees because officers choose a special person to pin his or her new badge on their chest. Some choose a child. Others choose a parent. Then there’s that choice of husband or wife, or in this case, husband and wife!

Johnsey Vann, #8299 and Aundrea Vann, #8983, shared the honor of pinning each other Thursday, October 16, 2014, as they accepted their new positions in the rank and file.

“It was awesome for us to promote together,” Aundrea said. “I’d just taken the senior corporal test when the 2011 sergeant exam was announced and I wasn’t eligible to take it. I urged Johnsey to take that test, but he was emphatic about us taking the test together, so he waited for me.”

As a married couple, they’re no strangers to teamwork and togetherness.

“We met at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Ms. Charlotte McBride’s fourth grade class,” she explained as she smiled from ear to ear. “We graduated high school together, but we didn’t start dating until after college.”

The couple hails from Muskogee, Oklahoma and married in 2003 after Johnsey graduated with Dallas Police Academy Class 276.

“It was so special to me that we were able to promote together,” Johnsey said. “Before we got married and even a little bit afterwards, she had her own career with her degree in agriculture. It meant the world to me when she joined me in my career.”

Aundrea hired on in 2006 just after the couple had their first child.

“I would’ve never thought about being a police officer if it wasn’t for Johnsey. I truly appreciate him for introducing me to the Dallas Police Department,” Aundrea stated.

The sergeant exam is a rigorous process. After the written test, the results rank each test taker, followed by an assessment center that re-ranks the competitors. Mrs. Vann finished number six, closely followed by Mr. Vann at number 8.

“It’s amazing to be able to go on this journey with her. I’ve known her since we were 10 years old and I feel privileged to have pinned my wife; she was my friend before she was my wife and it’s even more special that she beat me,” he said as he smiled. “Everyone tries to give me a hard time because she beat me, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

The lovebirds have been married for 11 years and have two children, 8-year-old Jaxsen and 5-year-old Ellisen.

Congratulations to husband and wife team, Sergeant Aundrea Vann and Sergeant Johnsey Vann on their promotions.