Longest-serving Schaumburg police officer retires

After more than 35 years at the Schaumburg Police Department, the colorful officer affectionately known as "The Dutchman" is retiring.

A fixture in town, Paul Schnetz served Schaumburg longer than any officer in the department's history. His tenure on the day shift patrol officially came to a close Friday.

"It's been a ride, like a roller coaster at Six Flags," he said Friday at a retirement ceremony at the police station.

The 63-year-old native of The Hague, Netherlands, spent most of his police career on street patrol.

"That's where all the action is," Schnetz said.

He did spend six months as an investigator before returning to patrol duty. It's rare for an officer to stay on the streets for that long.

"It's never happened at this department," said Schaumburg Police Chief of Operations Brian Howerton.

Schnetz speaks with a Dutch accent, which some colleagues said was much thicker when he started on Dec. 30, 1972. He also served the U.S. Army.

"I never thought I'd be a cop," Schnetz said.

He's seen the expansion of Woodfield Shopping Center and watched Schaumburg grow from a rural town to the home of global companies like Motorola Corp.

How rural was it? In 1974, Schnetz earned an award for rescuing 31 pigs from a barn fire - by opening the gate.

While some veteran officers like to give rookies some grief, Schnetz often took new cops under his wing, Sgt. John Nebl said. Schnetz would tell officers to relax and not worry too much about the small stuff. Schnetz also wanted officers to make sure they were always treated with respect.

"Paul's been a friend to all of us," Howerton said.

Schnetz said he's been thinking about retiring for the last six years, since, unlike many officers, he's continued working even after maxing out on his pension earnings. After next week's retirement party, he'll visit his mother for about two months in the Netherlands. When he comes back to his Algonquin home, he said he plans on destroying his alarm clock and relaxing. His hobbies include piloting airplanes and helicopters.

Schnetz is proud of the community, but said everyday workplace politics had taken their toll. He wouldn't go into specifics.

"This was just the right time to go," Schnetz said.