Schaumburg cops celebrate golden anniversary with open house

Families from throughout the Schaumburg community and beyond showed up in force for the Schaumburg Police Department's 50th anniversary open house Monday night.

Retirees enjoyed the chance to renew old acquaintances while children in particular got a kick out of the guided tours of the station.

These included visits to the shooting range and upgraded jail facility as well as demonstrations of defensive tactics and the drug-sniffing abilities of K9 officer Thunder.

One of the veterans who returned for the event was Lt. Dan Coursey, now of Eagle River, Wis. Hired in 1963, he was only the fifth officer to join the force and served until his retirement in 1986.

Many other guests at the open house enthusiastically rushed to greet Coursey when they saw him.

"I'm happy to see people I haven't seen in years!" Coursey smiled.

Visitors initially packed the station's community room where they were greeted by Police Chief Brian Howerton and senior Village Trustee George Dunham, a long-serving member of Schaumburg's public safety committee.

Dunham said that after original police chief Martin J. Conroy became the first full-time employee of the village, the department gradually grew to 143 people. Today, the roster has been reduced to 117 people due to a lower crime rate and greater staffing efficiencies.

Howerton, who is the sixth chief of the past 50 years, said he felt all previous officers would have been proud of the department of today and its record of public safety.

"Today is a momentous occasion in the history of the Schaumburg Police Department," he said.