Sauk Valley resource officer soon to be academy instructor

DIXON – It takes passion, experience and a love of learning to make a great instructor – Kyle Kellen possesses all three. Kellen is the full-time resource officer for Sauk Valley Community College and is soon to be one of the instructors for the college’s police academy opening in January.

Kellen began his career in law enforcement as a part-time officer and 911 dispatcher for the Mendota police department before becoming a full-time officer for Amboy. Then, after only a year and a half, he joined the Lee County Sheriff’s department working routine patrol.

Not content with doing the minimum, Kellen quickly became a field training officer and joined the department’s honor guard. Field training officers stay with new hires for their first ten weeks – evaluating their performance, providing additional training and ultimately deciding if they are ready to go solo.

“We are ensuring they understand how to properly handle traffic stops, DUIs, search and seizure, paperwork. You can talk about it all day long, but we make sure they know how to handle things correctly when they’re actually performing their job,” Kellen said.

This practical teaching experience makes Kellen a natural fit to instruct the wide range of classes he is undertaking, including traffic stops, disturbance calls and crisis intervention.

“Disturbance calls can be one of the most dangerous calls an officer can respond to. You are dealing with people who are already worked up and in the heat of the moment,” Kellen said.

Crisis Intervention covers disputes, bar fights, barricaded persons, people with mental health issues, and attempted suicides. Classes are hands-on and many make use of the college’s interactive Situation Room. This simulation-based training program responds to cadets’ voice commands, laser gunfire, and physical prompts, and can be customized to run hundreds of scenarios.

“It’s all about communication. Officers can de-escalate so many situations if we teach them how to communicate with people properly. It makes for better officers and relationships with the community,” said Jon Mandrell, vice president of student services and academics.

In addition, Kellen will also instruct classes on hazardous material awareness, emergency medical techniques, and missing persons. Kellen is a certified American Heart Association instructor and also manages the sheriff’s department’s search and rescue groups.

“Out of everything I’ve been a part of, being a field training officer is the most satisfying,” Kellen admits. “You get to help shape and mold an officer, and now, I’ll be able to do that on a larger scale.”

Kellen will continue his duties as the school’s resource officer. However, the college may bring in another deputy to help out in the future. Sauk administration is still working on a schedule for the classes. There is some flexibility, with some courses only taking an hour to complete. However, Kellen hopes to go above and beyond the minimum.

“There is a minimum requirement for what needs to be taught in these classes, but if you have extra time, that is just an opportunity to fill it with stuff that is going to make these people better officers, and that’s what I think this school’s academy is trying to do,” Kellen said.