Oswego deputy police chief honored for 27 years of service to village

Another longtime Oswego law enforcement officer has announced his retirement from the department.

Oswego Deputy Police Chief Kevin Norwood was honored at Tuesday’s Oswego Village Board meeting for his 27 years of service to the village. He started with the police department on June 3, 1996, as a patrol officer.

Oswego Police Chief Jeff Burgner recently announced his retirement from the department after 27 years of service.

“I get paid to do a job, plain and simple.”

—  Oswego Deputy Police Chief Kevin Norwood

Norwood’s last day is June 5 and Burgner’s last day is June 13.

“I’m going to miss your partnership at work and camaraderie, but one thing I won’t miss is our friendship, because it will continue on,” Burgner said to Norwood. “I’m about a week behind you, so I know you and I are going to connect on a regular basis.”

In his remarks, Burgner noted the both of them went through police training together. Norwood served many years in the department’s patrol division. His duties included being a field training officer, truck enforcement officer and bike officer.

“He started as a field training officer and trained a number of officers in our department,” Burgner said. “And then he also was the one who really started our truck enforcement efforts in the police department in 1999.”

Norwood moved through the ranks and was appointed deputy chief in 2019, where he provided leadership to the department’s patrol division. Norwood faced his share of challenges in 2020, including the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest throughout the country.

“He was the primary contact during numerous operations that we had in town that had to do with some marches and things like that,” Burgner said. “He went out of his way to make a direct contact with the people organizing those and to build a relationship with them in order to have a nice, safe event that was successful for the organizer.”

Burgner called Norwood an extremely humble individual “who focuses everything on how we can best serve the community.”

“You never hear him complain about the issues that he has and he always focuses on the mission at hand,” he said.

During the meeting, Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman read a proclamation that thanked Norwood for his service. The proclamation noted that he has continuously focused on community service as a priority in every action he has taken in his career with the Oswego Police Department.

He humbly accepted the accolades.

“I get paid to do a job, plain and simple,” Norwood said. ‘It’s what I did. I love serving the people of Oswego. To my co-workers, thank you. You definitely made my life easier. You surround yourself with good people and good things happen.”