As a little girl growing up in Allegheny Township, Sabrina Devereaux liked to dress as a police officer for Halloween.

“ ‘Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a police officer,' she would tell me,” said her mother, Melanie Burnheimer of Vandergrift. “I would tell her, ‘Whatever you want, I'll support you.' ”

“Brini,” as relatives called her, grew up to become a respected patrol officer in McCandless, where she worked the past 11 years. She had worked as a part-time officer in Vandergrift and Freeport.

Sabrina C. Devereaux of Butler died unexpectedly on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013, of natural causes at Butler Memorial Hospital. She was 35.

McCandless police Chief Gary W. Anderson called her “an excellent officer.”

“She was dedicated to her chosen profession,” Anderson said. “She was liked by all and had an impeccable service record. She was a true asset to the McCandless Police Department, and she will be sorely missed.”

When Officer Devereaux's mother was pregnant, she had a hunch she might be having twins. Doctors dismissed the idea, even though Melanie Burnheimer outgrew her clothes in barely two months of pregnancy. She gave birth to twins on July 26, 1978 — Sabrina first, followed 19 minutes later by Benjamin.

From a young age, Officer Devereaux watched police shows on TV. A neighbor with connections in the police department took her under her wing.

A gifted softball player and catcher, she drew chuckles from spectators because she liked to play in work boots instead of cleats or even tennis shoes.

She graduated from Kiski Area High School in 1996 and earned a bachelor's degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1999. She completed police academy training at IUP the next year, becoming the first female cadet to hit a perfect 300 shooting score in the academy's history.

While studying at IUP, Officer Devereaux kept a job at Anna's Restaurant in Vandergrift, where she was liked and respected as the owner's right-hand woman.

“Our biggest fear was always that she would die in the line of duty,” Melanie Burnheimer said. “She told me on more than one occasion, ‘If I die in the line of duty, please know that I have died doing what I loved the most.' ”

In her decade at McCandless, she became a firearms instructor, range officer and, most recently, the only female hostage negotiator for North Hills Special Response Team.

“She was a woman who had everything to give, and gave it,” said her aunt, Laurie Winslow of Gilpin Township.

Her family said one of Officer Devereaux's dreams came true when she married her neighbor and lifetime sweetheart, John Devereaux, on Feb. 22, 2005, at Hollywood Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Their beloved Doberman pinscher, Ivan, died about two years ago. “She was definitely an animal lover,” Winslow said.

Officer Devereaux's mother said she will remember her daughter as a selfless person who even in death gave to others as an organ donor.

“She accomplished more in 35 years than a lot of people accomplish in a lifetime,” Burnheimer said. “I can't tell you how proud I am of her.”

In addition to her husband and mother, Officer Devereaux is survived by her father, Ben C. Burnheimer of Pittsburgh; brother, Benjamin Burnheimer and his wife, Cathy, of Ohio Township; nieces Madalin, Leah and Mya Burnheimer; and maternal grandparents, Leonard C. and Leota C. Wolfe of Leechburg.

Friends will be received from 2 to 9 p.m. Friday in Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, 124 E. North St., Butler. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday in St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, 128 McKean St., Butler. Inurnment in Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum, Butler.

Luis Fábregas is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7998 or lfabregas@tribweb.com.

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