General News
25 March, 2025
Father and son officers follow similar paths
It’s not every day you find officers who want to work in a single-member station, let alone in the same police service area, let alone a father and son duo.
Yet, Leading Senior Pete Mellington and Senior Constable Aari Mellington check all three.
Last year, Aari became the sole police officer in Jeparit, with dad Pete, located 65km away the single-member Natimuk station, where he’s been for the past nine years.
Despite following in his father's footsteps, Aari has never felt pressure from Pete to join Victoria Police, only gaining sound advice if he was considering it.
“Go out and work other jobs and learn how to deal with all kinds of people, because the best tool we have in this job is knowing how to talk to people," said Pete.
So he went on to work in retail before moving to an oat mill where he gained supervisor experience.
When he eventually became a police officer, these learned experiences proved invaluable for Aari and a colleague while responding to a mental health incident where a teenager was threatening his family with a knife and axe.
“We were talking with this kid for nearly an hour… but then he pointed at our police car and said, you’re lucky it’s a Holden, and that was our in."
The pair began speaking to the teen about their mutual appreciation of cars and eventually convinced him to put the weapons down and get the help he needed.
Aari looks back at this incident as a career highlight, recognising his skill at finding a connection with the young man and avoiding an adverse outcome.
And while Pete’s been a constant sounding board for Aari, it hasn’t always been one-way traffic.
He admits he’s no good with technology and will often call on Aari to show him how to make something work, which is “better than making me look like a dill when I ask for help from someone I don’t know.”
Whether you're around Natimuk or Jeparit, keep a look out for the duo and say g'day.