Crystal Lake park police sergeant honored for lifesaving efforts

The Crystal Lake Park District Police Department bestowed a first-of-its-kind award to a sergeant in recognition of her efforts in helping a person considering death by suicide.

Sgt. Colleen Galvicius received the Crystal Lake Park District Police Meritorious Conduct Award during a board meeting last week.

On May 28, Galvicius picked up an afternoon shift on her day off. She decided to stick around a little longer when her shift was supposed to end at 7 p.m., and a call came through on the radio regarding an individual contemplating suicide near Veteran Acres Park, she said.

Immediately, she had the intuition that the person could be at High Point in Sterne’s Woods.

“I just knew,” she said. “Honestly, I feel like God put me there.”

Using her crisis intervention training, Galvicius was able to talk with the person until the Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department arrived.

“Sgt. Galvicius displays her commitment to our department and mission, and her training and experience prevented a person from making a painful choice in a time of crisis,” Crystal Lake park board President Frederick Tiesenga said at a July 21 meeting.

Park Police Chief John Longo described Galvicius as being thorough and having “a lot of compassion and empathy.”

“I feel like I was just doing my job,” Galvicius said. “It blows my mind that this was given to me.”

Galvicius previously worked at the Cary Police Department and also works full time in security in Community High School District 155. She started working with the Crystal Lake Park District police in 2018 and has been a sergeant for about four years, Longo said.

This award was the first given out by the Crystal Lake Park District police. Longo said that after hearing about Galvicius’ heroic efforts, he looked into the park district police policy to see what the department could award her.

“I’m hoping to keep it going,” he said. ”I like to do as much recognition for our officers as I can.”

The award comes after the park district considered disbanding the department last year. The district raised the prospect of dissolving the police department to save money and resources, but board members voted 4-2 to keep the department. A park district with its own police agency is a rarity in the Chicago region.

The department has 10 officers, eight of whom are part-time workers, Longo said.