By Joel Frieders
In my role as an alderman in Yorkville, I am accustomed to hearing passing stories about the notable achievements of the police officers in Yorkville. What used to be more of a quick story told prior to a meeting followed by a high five in passing, has evolved into something more just after our new police chief, Jim Jensen, took his seat. Chief Jensen has done an incredible job of encouraging our officers to embrace the community they serve by simply interacting with community members more and in more organic ways than simply posing for a picture or handing out stickers.
Last week, Jensen made sure to relay to the media that United City of Yorkville Police Officer Matthew Ketchmark successfully had revived a non-responsive female from a near overdose. Officer Ketchmark wasn’t prepared for the praise, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve the publicity and the cheers from all of his adoring fans (including me).
And now, last weekend, we received word of three of Yorkville Police Department’s finest, Sgt. Jeleniewski, Officer Kuehlem, and Officer Borowski, who took a potentially-dangerous situation and diffused it without much fanfare, until their boss told me.
I’d like you to read the following praise given to these officers by their chief, and remember that the officers you see while they’re on duty are oftentimes incredible humans behind the badge, and we should be doing more to make sure that officers such as these receive publicity. Maybe the officers that shoot first and ask questions later will learn from the good ones.
“I wanted to pass along a call from the weekend. While this call doesn’t seem to be out of the ordinary for things our officers have to deal with, the danger they faced and their quick action to prevent any injury to the driver of the vehicle and the motoring public was outstanding in my opinion. Keep in mind that the officers did not know there was a medical emergency. They only knew the driver was passed out behind the wheel and that he could awaken at anytime and drive forward. This is some of the great work done by your police department.
“Sgt. Jeleniewski, Officer Kuehlem, and Officer Borowski: Officers were called to the area of Route 47 and Kennedy for a male passed out behind the wheel. Upon arrival the officers noticed a vehicle stopped in traffic the driver passed out and the vehicle still in drive. The concern was the driver, if startled, would awaken and drive forward causing injury to himself or someone else. Officers Kuehlem and Borowski prevented any further injury or traffic crash by physically stopping the vehicle with their hands/bodies while Sgt. Jeleniewski placed his squad in front of the vehicle to prevent it from entering the intersection and causing a crash. The officers gained entry to the vehicle utilizing lock-out tools and were able to put the vehicle in park and summon medical attention for the driver who was suffering from an apparent diabetic emergency. Fantastic job goes out to Sgt. Jeleniewski, Officer Kuehlem, and Officer Borowski.”
Incredible work, officers.