What Has Set Apart Riverside Police — Openness

La Grange IL

11 June, 2021

1:25 PM

Description

RIVERSIDE, IL — One of former Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel's missions was clear while at the police department's helm — openness with the public. Reporters often struggle to get many police chiefs on the phone, let alone obtain detailed information about cases. But that wasn't the case with Weitzel, who retired last month. Under his leadership, the department regularly issued news releases about what local officers were dealing with. Weitzel wrote them. The releases weren't just about the biggest crimes in the village. Some seemingly smaller ones such as DUIs got attention. And Weitzel also focused on missing person cases. When an older man with a nursing home group went missing while at the Brookfield Zoo in late 2019, Weitzel put out several releases on the case. The nursing home, he said, wanted the man's name off the missing persons list before he was even found. Weitzel refused to remove it and informed state regulators and the media about the nursing home's request. The man may well have been found because of the department's publicity about the case. The department's openness, Weitzel said, has rubbed some residents the wrong way. "They want open and transparent government in my village. They want open and transparent policing," Weitzel said in an interview. "Then we had residents who said the police were too open. Everything we put out there was done so legally." Weitzel said it was important to get the facts out to Riverside residents. "Riverside has shown tremendous support for public safety," said Weitzel, who became chief in 2008. "They would walk into my office. They would fund equipment and make donations. They would buy lunches for officers. They were extremely supportive. They wanted a well-run department."