Officer Of The Year Named At Batavia Police Department

Press release from the City of Batavia:

BATAVIA, IL — The Kane County Chiefs of Police Association, in partnership with the Batavia Moose Lodge #682, announced Batavia Police Officer Michael Walters is the winner of the Louis Spuhler Award for outstanding police work in 2022. The award was announced at the 46th Annual Kane County of the Year Banquet Feb. 22.

In his nomination letter, Batavia Police Chief Shawn Mazza summarized the incident in which earned Officer Walter's nomination:

"On January 26, 2022, at approximately 11:11 A.M., Officer Michael Walters responded to the 200 block of South Forest Avenue in Batavia, for a domestic battery report. The victim reported that her boyfriend choked her and was threatening to kill her. Officer Walters was the first officer on the scene, and located an agitated male subject holding a three-month-old baby. The subject, whose hands were scraped and bloodied, would not follow commands from officers to relinquish the child to the mother. Officer Walters assessed the situation and kept close enough to rescue the infant, but far enough away as to not escalate the situation and cause the subject to harm the baby. Officers later learned that prior to their arrival, the male subject forcibly removed the baby from the baby’s mother, then choked the mother three separate times, causing the mother to lose consciousness at one point.

The male subject remained very agitated throughout the incident and continually threatened to harm the baby. He stated several times that he would make the officers on scene shoot him. Officer Walters kept a dialogue with the subject and built a rapport with him. The subject eventually agreed to speak with counselors by phone. Officer Walters remained calm and persistent in the pursuit of trying to verbally de-escalate the situation for over 74 minutes. Thankfully, the subject was convinced to release the baby to a relative.

The offender was taken into custody and charged with two felonies and multiple misdemeanor counts of domestic battery, obstructing a peace officer, and endangering the life of a child. Officer Walters displayed great restraint, patience, and compassion during this incident. He quickly understood that the offender was having a mental health crisis and the 3-month-old baby was at great risk of being harmed. If it were not for the actions and determination of Officer Walters, the outcome might have had grave consequences."

Dozens of officers were nominated for the award, including Batavia Officer Christopher Schultz.

This press release was produced by the City of Batavia. The views expressed here are the author’s own.