Damir Subasic is a local law enforcement officer and trainer whose family came to Idaho many years ago through the refugee resettlement program.

 

Damir and his family left former Yugoslavia when he was 9 on what he thought was going to be a visit to his grandma’s in Germany. But as war and violence escalated back home, it became clear they couldn’t return. Damir, the only Bosnian kid at school, faced intense bullying and isolation in those early years in Germany before making a few close friends who made life start to feel normal again.

When Damir was 16, his family resettled in Boise, where his uncle had previously been sponsored as a refugee by the owners of a local deli. Damir went to school with his guard up, expecting to face more bullying and beatings. One day he met his first American friend – a seemingly small encounter that changed Damir’s perspective for the rest of his life.

 

Damir went on to earn his degree in criminal justice and has worked in law enforcement for 15 years, including alongside other officers from refugee backgrounds. He now teaches at the police academy and speaks at schools and community events.

 

“I try to be there for others,” he said. “There’s a trickle effect you don’t realize you might ‎have on someone way down the road.”