Pat Bartel wanted to be a police officer for as long as he can remember.

“I can’t ever think of a time in my life where I didn’t want to be a cop,” Bartel said. “I was the kid that probably knew my 10 codes before I knew my alphabet.”

Bartel recently was named the Sterling Police Department’s new chief of police after the departure of previous Chief Alex Chavira, who retired Sept. 20.

When he was growing up, law enforcement was a common topic of conversation in Bartel’s home. His father covered the police and fire department beat as a reporter and photographer for The Daily Gazette, where Bartel’s grandfather worked as a pressman.

“My dad did everything he could to try to dissuade me. He wanted me to be a fireman or a paramedic or anything else,” Bartel recalled with a fond grin. “He saw the darker side that law enforcement can sometimes be, and I’m sure he just didn’t want me to experience that. But he never held me back either. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

After receiving his associate degree at Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon, he thought about moving away to work for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in California but “wasn’t thrilled” with the prospect of the additional schooling. Eager to work, he took an internship with the Sterling Police Department that would cement his resolve to stay in local law enforcement.

“The time I spent here, when I saw this department, that’s what kind of started spinning the wheels on me staying here,” Bartel said. “Cadet Thorp was the chief at the time, and Ryan Potthoff was the lieutenant. I was so impressed with the leadership that was here – how they took care of the city, the amount of training they did and how they looked out for each officer. That’s what spun me around and led me back here.”

The SPD hired Bartel as a patrol officer in March 1994. He said that at the time, Sterling had received a grant from the Clinton administration for community policing, and the SPD was looking for young officers to spend the next year “thinking outside the box to not be the typical cop.”

“We spent most of that year on bicycles. We met a ton of people in the community, we were in the schools, and we even helped Kilgour [Park] when they built the Imagination Station,” Bartel said. “We were anything and everything that was outside of what I imagined police officers did on a daily basis. We still had a little bit of that mixed in, but for the most part, we were out meeting people and starting relationships.”

As the city’s community policing grant was winding down in 1996, a new opportunity emerged – a K-9 officer position. For Bartel, a lifelong dog lover, it was the perfect fit. He spent the next nine years partnered with his K-9 companion, adding a second dog to the team in 2005.

He fell in love with the role, eventually expanding it to include selecting and certifying dogs for other departments, working with the Illinois State Police SWAT team, and training dogs for the state police academy.

“I would have done that forever if my body allowed it,” Bartel said. “But after 21 years of K-9, my body was a bit beat up, and it was time for me to do something different.”

After a year on patrol, Bartel was promoted to patrol sergeant in 2017. Two years later, he advanced to detective sergeant, where he served for almost a year before being promoted to deputy chief of operations.

“For about nine to 12 months, I did both roles because we were short staffed,” Bartel said. “So for a period of time, I was deputy chief of operations, detective sergeant, and I was attending Northwestern University for the Staff and Command program.”

Bartel served as deputy chief until stepping into his current role as Sterling’s chief of police. His top priority is maintaining and enhancing the department’s community policing approach. He said he wants to see younger officers take an active role in building lasting relationships with the people they serve.

“You don’t have to drive around with your windows up and your air conditioning on, not looking or talking to anybody,” Bartel said. “It’s cool to get out of your car and just walk up to somebody and say, ‘Hey, how’re you doing? How’s your neighborhood?’ Or stopping at a business and asking if they’ve had any problems, or if there’s something we can do to help, because when it comes down to it, we’re a service.”

Bartel said the department is working to strengthen recruitment by building relationships with local colleges, starting with Western Illinois University.

“I have something set up with Western Illinois, and we’re starting on the athletic side because of the team concept – they embrace that,” Bartel said. “Western is going to allow us to speak with their entire athletic department, and if we can get 10 to 12 people interested, that would be a great start.”

He said Western was a natural first choice not only because it has a strong law enforcement program but also because of a personal connection.

“One of their coaches is a former Newman guy I have a relationship with,” Bartel said. “That was kind of my in. The goal is to create and continue that relationship until those people are ready to join the workforce and put Sterling in their minds.”