Sergeant Peter Lukaitis didn't always know he wanted to be a police officer.
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"I was 21 years old and a university student," he said. "I was working to put myself through university and I felt I wasn't really being a good student. I was doing a law course and a Bachelor of Arts.
"So I thought, what do I really want to do? The police force just kept coming up.
"The conditions were good, there were holidays, the pay was good, it was interesting work, and also the fact that you were giving to the community. You were doing meaningful work for people and you could make a difference.
"So I spoke to an older policeman and then I spoke to a really young policeman. Then I sat down and thought, yep I really want to join. So I joined and left uni behind."
That was back in 1980. On exactly 39 years to the day - December 8 - Sergeant Lukaitis will hang up the handcuffs for the final time.
"I just feel as though it's time," he said. "I've just turned 60 and I've got other things I want to do because I'm an internal mediator with the police. I'd like to do that privately.
"I've done 39 years, I've done a lot, and it would be good to have someone take on the baton with a bit more vigour and all of that sort of stuff."
Sergeant Lukaitis - who grew up in the Melbourne suburb of East Kew - has served in a number of different parts of Victoria.
He's worked in the outer Melbourne suburbs of Springvale, Fitzroy, Brunswick, and Flemington.
But he's spent the past 21 years of his life with his wife and children in north central Victoria - first in Bendigo from 1998, before moving to Castlemaine in 2001.
"We didn't think that we were going to stay here forever," he said. "But it's been good."
A pivotal moment in Sergeant Lukaitis' career was the Kangaroo Flat Siege.
On October 1, 1999, John Wason opened fire on the police he refused to talk to after assaulting his father.
In the 19-hour siege, four police officers were wounded by gun shots - two with life-threatening injuries - in what was the single largest shooting of officers in Victoria.
Sergeant Lukaitis responded to the call out in Kangaroo Flat about 10pm that night.
"I was back at the station and I got told there were shots fired in Kangaroo Flat and that one policeman was injured," he said.
"I went out with another member and when we got there it was very difficult to work out what was going on."
Sergeant Lukaitis was talking to Inspector Ulf Kaminski when the inspector was shot in the stomach.
"I then realised what was happening because you get a lot of clarity when the adrenaline kicks in," Sergeant Lukaitis said.
As Sergeant Lukaitis tried to move Inspector Kaminski to cover, Wason fired another shot which hit Sergeant Lukaitis in the right foot.
"He was obviously trying to shoot us in the head but the bullet just went straight past my head and went and hit my foot," he said.
"I realised I'd been hit but I thought it was just a shrapnel wound."
Sergeant Lukaitis made it to a brick wall, but realising Inspector Kaminski could not get there himself, he again put himself in sight of the shooter.
He determined his protective vest would be able to withstand a shot, so he went back out and shielded Inspector Kaminski as he sought shelter.
Sergeant Lukaitis got Inspector Kaminski behind a small tree, then a concrete bus shelter where paramedics were able to take over.
"It was a bad night but a lot of positive things came out of it," Sergeant Lukaitis said. "It makes you reassess your life.
"It made me appreciate more of the things that you've got rather than looking to what you may want.
"I realised life has been good to me. I have four healthy children and I'm still married to my partner and I thought life doesn't get much better than this."
Sergeant Lukaitis received Victoria Police's highest honour for bravery, the Valour Award, as well as an Australian Bravery Award for his efforts during the siege.
"They were highlights because they involved not just me, but my family," Sergeant Lukaitis said. "They went through a lot with it too. It wasn't an easy time for everyone."
A few years after the siege, Sergeant Lukaitis left Bendigo and moved to Castlemaine where he has been a sergeant for the past 18 years.
"You do get a sense of achievement," he said. "I suppose policing is one aspect of it. Just even talking to people, going to jobs and meeting different people and doing community-based policing work has been good.
"Just even going for a full patrol and talking to people and saying g'day. I have certainly enjoyed that aspect too."
The police force has now become a bit of a family affair for Sergeant Lukaitis.
"My daughter has just graduated into the police force," he said. "In fact, she came up this week and worked a shift. So that's a highlight and I'm very proud of that. One of my sons also works in the public service as a support role to police."
Now that he has handed over the baton to his daughter, Sergeant Lukaitis will make the most of his time out of the force.
"I've really enjoyed it," he said. "I've enjoyed the people I've worked with - and that goes for everyone.
"It has been a challenge. That's the thing about policing, you can never go to work thinking it's going to be the same day as yesterday."
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