Sgt Will Moore has been a Public Safety Officer with Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety for 20 years.  A veteran in the department, he has been an important member of several specialty units including the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, Community Policing Unit, an Engine Operator, Recruiter and a has been a Sergeant for the past 5 years.

When asked why he chose a career in Public Safety, Moore immediately recalls an incident that took place one summer while at a church function, when he was 13 years old;  “Two of my buddies and I were sitting by the pool, when the one person in our group who couldn’t swim, stupidly decided to jump in.” After a few moments, they began to realize the friend was now in desperate need of rescuing. “I looked around and no one else was going to help him, so I dove in.”  While bringing the frantic friend to safety, Moore was struck in the head by a flailing arm, knocking him unconscious.  Moore sank to the bottom of the deep-end, where he remained for almost 15 minutes, according to onlookers.  Several people attempted to save Moore using the rescue hook from poolside but after numerous failed attempts, an unknown male dove into the water and brought him to safety.  The rescuer performed CPR on Moore and remarkably was able to regain a pulse. Moore spent 3 days in the hospital where he was told about the events that had taken place.  “The funny thing is nobody asked the firefighter his name, and he didn’t give his name… he just left… my spiritual side feels that it was an angel that saved me that day.”

Moore went on to study at North Carolina Central University where he learned about the concept of Public Safety (a Police-Fire-EMS integrated department) while at the recruiting event, “I just thought to myself, wow I could give back to this firefighter who saved my life. And that’s why I feel I got in this line of work.” Moore has told this story to several interested applicants while he worked as a recruiter for KDPS, in hopes to inspire more citizens to give back.

                On December 2, 2010, Kalamazoo Public Safety Officers were participating in their annual shift bid which determines the yearly assignment of patrol and station assigned personnel.  Officer Keaton Nielsen, hired by KDPS in 2006, was contemplating his flight leaving for Washington DC six hours later and yet another trip to Walter Reed Hospital.  Within the next two weeks, Nielsen will undergo his eighteenth surgery in attempts to further repair his right hand after a training exercise in Afghanistan went awry.  Nielsen, a Staff Sergeant reservist with the U.S. Army, was called to active duty in March of 2009 and on December 5^th of that year, participated in a training exercise in Khowst, Afghanistan. 

Nielsen was training over 1,000 Afghanistan private citizens for combat as part of the military's strategy to build-up the Afghanistan's military to eventually become self- sufficient.

"We were training with Afghan privates using prototype smoke grenades.  The intent of the grenade is to set-off a smoke screen for sniper fire.  Some of the grenades have short fuses.  Mine was a short fuse but it wasn't marked."

The errant explosion caused extensive damage to Nielsen's right hand and it was questionable whether or not it could be saved.  He has undergone extensive surgeries which included removing a portion of his tricep muscle to rebuild a new thumb.  Nielsen's recovery has also required hundreds of hours of painful physical therapy but he has regained considerable use of his hand.

"Hopefully this will be the last surgery which won't require additional physical therapy," he said.

Officer Todd Christensen is a KDPS twenty-year veteran and Kalamazoo Valley Community College police academy instructor.  He is also a U.S. Army Master Sergeant Reservist and served with Neilsen in Kabul, Afghanistan until July of 2009 when they were split-up and given new assignments.

"Keaton was a student in my police academy class at KVCC," said Christensen.  One of the things I remember telling him is about having the survival mind-set and that when something goes bad you have to focus on one thing--staying alive which is about your breathing and keeping yourself from going into shock.  Keaton told me later that after the explosion, all of that hit him at that exact moment.  His survival was a testament to his training and an incredible level of strength and will to survive."

According to Christensen, other soldiers involved in similar accidents have sustained substantially worse injuries.  "If Keaton has not been wearing his (safety) glasses, he would have been blinded.  If he had not been wearing his vest, he could have been killed.  I've seen other soldiers lose their entire hand and worse.  He has turned a something negative into a positive"

According to Nielsen, the Army has removed the short fused grenades from service and all other grenades are now clearly marked.  "It was a bit of an 'oops,' for the Army," he said.

And during the last year, no one has given Nielsen more support and encouragement than his wife Amanda of four years, who has been by his side since the accident.  She has also utilized her talents for the betterment of a bad situation.

"She has been awesome," Nielsen summarized.  "She now runs a mentorship program at Walter Reed (Hospital) to help the spouses of injured soldiers."

Hoping to return to KDPS within the next few months, Nielsen has been humbled by the response from KDPS and the City of Kalamazoo.

"I appreciate everything the department has done.  I've talked to a lot of reserves who have been injured and no one has had the support that I've had from their employers, from command to the troops.  This place has been pretty awesome."

Neilsen has been a member of the Army Reserve for nearly nine years and served in Iraq for 18 months beginning in 2003.  He plans on continuing his service as a reserve and received the Meritorious Service Medal for his last tour of duty.

"They just don't give that award to everyone," said Christensen.  "It's pretty special and it is something you earn."

Most police officers have a niche within the many duties of law enforcement in which they exceed expectations. Officer Cam Kooy's passion was the pursuit of drunken drivers. "Cam was one of the greatest hunters of drunk drivers," said Officer Todd Christensen. "Cam would refer to their actions as a mobile homicide." Cam won numerous MADD awards and many times was the leading officer in the entire county of Kalamazoo in drunken driving arrests. His tenacity for clearing the streets of dangerous drivers saved untold lives that will never be known by virtue of a statistic. And in his pursuit, Cam treated those he arrested with dignity and respect. "Cam treated his drunk drivers like they were long lost cousins," remembered Officer Scott Szekely.

Officer Cameron Kooy was also well known for always having his night stick in tow. "Cam always had his hat, night stick and flashlight. One night Cam busted a burglar and recovered about a hundred items of stolen property. While inventorying the items, he was smiling and still wearing his hat, night stick and flashlight," said Szekely.

But what people most remembered about Cam was his incredible faith as a God-loving and God-fearing man. "Cam was certainly not you stereotypical tough guy police officer," said Officer Jeff Koch. "He was a brave man and not afraid to show his Christian faith and reflect God's love to anyone he came across. He made you feel genuinely cared about when he would talk to you."

Also a field training officer, Cam Kooy was known for not only living his faith but sharing it with others through prayer, birthday cards or sharing his food with others. Officer Christensen recalled his first night working patrol and still not familiar with the streets of Kalamazoo. "Cam handed me a new city guide book and a spare key to my cruiser," he said.

"After I completed the field training program, Cam provided me with three well worn and tattered books on police tactics and survival," recalled Officer Craig Stouffer. "Cam said he always made sure all rookies had no excuse not to learn the safety and standards outlined in the books. Cam was concerned with everyone's safety not only because it was his job but because he truly cared. It was not uncommon for Cam to investigate a burglary only to return after his shift with a shop vac and help the victim clean up the mess. He was possibly one of the most genuinely kind person I have ever met."

Officer Walt Wawra became a close and personal friend of Cam's after Walt was hired in 1992. "Cam didn't base human worth on the worldly definition but it was his desire to love and serve his Creator, Jesus Christ," said Officer Wawra. As already narrated by co-workers, "Cam strove to love thy neighbor and saw that every person he met was in fact, his neighbor. Many people look to sports figures and actors as heroes but the greatest hero I have ever met was Cameron Kooy."

 After his death a bronze plaque attached to a rock near the intersection of Parkview and Oakland was dedicated and stands tribute to one of Kalamazoo's finest heroes.