Romeoville officer recognized for community service

ROMEOVILLE – The village of Romeoville might not be as safe today if John Allen’s sister hadn’t “wasted her time” 20 years ago.

Allen grew up in Chicago and was content working in construction and computer drafting when his sister spent several hours one day waiting in line for a Cook County Sheriff’s application.

“She brought it home and laid it on the table saying she didn’t know why she’d stayed there. She wasn’t going to do it,” Allen recalled. “I’d never thought about [law enforcement] before. I’m still not sure why but I filled it out and sent it in.”

Allen spent a year as a Cook County Correctional officer and three years as a guard at the Will County jail before joining the Romeoville Police Department 15 years ago. Last week, he was recognized as the department’s Police Officer of the Year.

“John is such a very positive and very helpful police officer. He has a true concern for the community,” Chief Mark Turvey said.

Allen has led the department’s efforts in the Shop With A Cop event, Softball in the Snow for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Camp Quality for children with cancer, Bowling for Kids Sake for Big Brothers Big Sisters and Cop on a Rooftop for Special Olympics.

For the past three years, Allen has partnered with Spike, a Belgian malinois.

“I think with everything going on with the public perception of law enforcement, having that positive interaction with the canine has been very enlightening,” Allen said.

But Allen and Spike also found Erick Maya, the man who had killed ex-girlfriend Briana Valle and wounded her mother during a shooting ambush in February 2014. Maya, found hiding under a back deck a few blocks away, was later convicted of murder.

When another homicide occurred during a street brawl involving baseball bats, Allen stopped a vehicle leaving the scene and later identified suspects in the case. A man and a juvenile face murder charges from that incident.

In April 2014, Allen was sent to inspect a vehicle parked in the driveway of a vacant home in the 600 block of Romeo Road. Allen discovered a marijuana growing operation at the residence that resulted in 57 cannabis plants being seized.

The next month, Allen and two other officers went into the water attempting to rescue a man in a car that had driven into a retention pond on the 1400 block of Bluff Road. The man did not survive despite "valiant efforts" to save him, Turvey said.

In September, Allen and Spike arrived at the traffic stop of a suspected drug dealer and found more than $10,000 and ledgers of alleged drug transactions in the vehicle. A subsequent search warrant led to the seizure of cocaine and a handgun and two arrests, Turvey said.

“He had an outstanding year. A lot of great work,” Turvey said.