Gurnee celebrates police officers with Four Pillar Awards
Four Gurnee police officers were celebrated at Monday night's village board session for their work in key areas.
It was the consecutive presentation for the Four Pillar Awards initiated by Police Chief Kevin Woodside. The honors were for crime prevention, community impact, crime response and team building.
While the Four Pillar Awards are presented annually, the kudos recognize career achievements, Woodside said.
"We have an Officer of the Year Award we recognize in September, which is more of a sprint, where that's a year's worth of performance and activity that's recognized," he said. "But these (Four Pillar Awards) recognize longer-term performance. The four officers we're recognizing here all have been police officers in Gurnee since the '90s."
Officer Dan Wielgat received this year's Crime Prevention Award. It's presented to a Gurnee police employee who exemplifies a proactive and educational approach to crime reduction. Wielgat joined the Gurnee department in 1998.
Wielgat has been assigned to Gurnee Mills substation since 2012. He's served on the visitor-oriented police team for the past three years.
Detective Jack Metcalf received the Crime Response Award. That honor is reserved for someone who provides a rapid and professional response to confront crime as it occurs.
Metcalf has been with the Gurnee force since 2015. He was a school resource officer from 1997 until he became a detective in 2007.
His previous honors include Gurnee Officer of the Year in 1997 and Lake County Juvenile Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 2001.
Woodside said Metcalf's was selected for a Four Pillar Award in part because of his expertise and knowledge of juvenile law, plus his dedication to protecting the rights and welfare of young people, victims and offenders alike.
This year's Community Impact Award went to Sgt. James Lange. The recognition is for a police employee who creates an excellent partnership with the community.
Lange joined the Gurnee police in 1996 and was a sergeant from 2000 until his retirement this year. He became Gurnee's first canine unit handler in 1999 and is known in the community for coaching youth football.
Officer Kevin Schreiner received the Team Building Award. The honor goes to an employee who worker who creates an excellent work environment so Gurnee can recruit officers and develop an exceptional team.
Schreiner, a Gurnee officer since 1997 who's worked in field training for 15 years, is seen as an "informal leader," a role model and a mentor to many young officers, Woodside said.