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Grayslake names McCutcheon as interim police chief

Grayslake police Operations Cmdr. Matt McCutcheon is sliding up to be the village’s interim top cop.

Village board members Tuesday night voted in favor of appointing McCutcheon as acting police chief starting July 2. The move was necessitated by the retirement of Larry Herzog after 13 years as Grayslake’s police chief.

“Everyone knows Matt McCutcheon,” Grayslake Mayor Rhett Taylor said. “He’s been doing a great job in our police department.”

Among his administration duties, McCutcheon has been the main public voice of Grayslake police, manages the village’s request for service system used by residents, directs patrol shifts and coordinates with other law-enforcement agencies.

Moreover, McCutcheon has had responsibility for vehicle fleet management, internal affairs, employee relations and police training.

After starting his career with the Country Club Hills Police Department in 1989, McCutcheon joined Grayslake in 1991. He moved up to sergeant in 1994 and commander in 1998.

McCutcheon said he plans to apply for the permanent police chief position. As interim chief, he said, his job will be to maintain stability and a seamless transition to whomever is selected as top cop after a formal search process is completed.

“It’s been great,” McCutcheon said of his Grayslake tenure. “The department has come a long way in the last 20 years.”

McCutcheon received the Lake County Valor Award in 1994. He was recognized for rescuing an unconscious woman from a burning building and locating a drug overdose victim after following her tracks in a January snow in separate incidents.

Herzog was appointed as chief in 1998. He came to Grayslake following a 26-year career at the Park Ridge Police Department.

Taylor praised Herzog for his service to Grayslake. Tuesday’s village board meeting was Herzog’s last as police chief.

McCutcheon, who grew up in Milwaukee and spent summers at his grandparents’ Fox Lake cottage, not only will lead a police department that patrols Grayslake, but also has Hainesville in its portfolio. Grayslake started patrolling neighboring Hainesville as a fifth beat under a three-year contract that started in July 2010.

Several Grayslake police officers attended the village board session to see McCutcheon’s appointment as acting chief.