VOK: Kirkwood Police
David DeGonia, Lieutenant
“A teenager called one day because he was stuck in a pair of handcuffs and didn’t have a key. He said he found them in an old house and didn’t think they were real. He put them on thinking he would be able to open them just by pulling on them. After we verified that he hadn’t escaped from any police departments I let him loose.”
TKC: What is your proudest moment or accomplishment you’ve had with your job?
“My proudest moments are through my promotions, when I was promoted to sergeant and then to lieutenant. To be promoted to sergeant you have to go through a promotional process which includes written tests and oral interviews and includes people from other agencies. We all had to study hard and we were nervous going in front of the whole board [in order to be promoted]. It was very demanding.”
TKC: Do you have any advice for anyone interested in law enforcement?
“My advice would be [to try] our explore program. I used to be one of the associate advisors working with teenagers and I think the program gives you a look into law enforcement if you don’t have any other way of finding out about it. We’ve had several [people in the explore program] become police officers.”
Cynthia Casserly, Police Officer
“I’ve always wanted to be a police officer ever since I was a kid. I finally realized that I need to make my dream come true, and that’s when I got hired at Kirkwood. [I like] the diversity of Kirkwood. We have a little bit of everything from all walks of life. That’s what makes it so interesting.”
TKC: What is your proudest moment or accomplishment you’ve had with your job?
“My proudest moment was [when] I had a young lady involved in heroine. Her parents were having a lot of trouble and she was obviously having a lot of trouble. I talked to [the young lady] at length. Then not until about a month later I saw the mother on the street and she actually hugged me and thanked me. Her daughter had gone to treatment. She was getting a job and starting to turn her life around. That’s why I do what I do. But a lot of times, we don’t get the closure. With the calls like that, we don’t always know what happens [in the end]. We don’t [always] know if we’ve had any impact.”
TKC: Do you have any advice for anyone interested in law enforcement?
“[My advice] is to finish schooling and get a college degree. More doors are open that way. Have a love for it, be able to talk to people, and don’t have any criminal history at all.”
Michael Hance, police officer
“My friends ask me about [interesting stories] all the time. One day I was in North County [following] some pursuits. I was approaching a shooting scene and one of [the pursuits] put their hands up and the other [pursuit] wouldn’t take his hand out of his waistband. I had my hand on the gun, but luckily I recognized him and I didn’t have to do anything more than say his name and ‘hey, listen to me.’”
TKC: What is your proudest moment or accomplishment you’ve had with your job?
“[My proudest moment] is getting to work in Kirkwood. I really enjoy being [here], I’ve been here for five years now. [Kirkwood] is my hometown. People [in Kirkwood] don’t want to leave because it’s a great [town]. You can’t pursue a call without knowing somebody.”
TKC: Do you have any advice for anyone interested in law enforcement?
“If you know you’re interested [in joining law enforcement], you have to learn slowly and decide if it’s for you, and really make sure it’s something you want.”
David Elliott, patrolmen
“I’ve wanted to be in law enforcement since high school, I went into the marine corps to further my experience so I could get into law enforcement. I was always pretty sure that I wanted this job. When I graduated, we had a list of things underneath our picture of what we wanted to do with ourselves after high school and [mine] was law enforcement. I’ve always [wanted] to help people out. I also liked to watch cop shows and cop movies.”
TKC: What is your proudest moment or accomplishment you’ve had with your job?
“[My proudest moment] is when I saved some children from a house fire. I went inside and took three children out before the house was overcome with smoke. Once [everyone] was out of the house and were safe, it really felt great.”
TKC: Do you have any advice for anyone interested in law enforcement?
“My advice is to make sure this is what you want to do. Get your education. If you like to help people out and make a difference in your community, this could be a great career to get into.”
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