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Fax: 815-223-9508
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Patrol Division

The Patrol Division of the LaSalle Police Department is the "backbone" and most visible division of the police department.  Citizens and visitors to the City of LaSalle enjoy quality service from the 18 certified professional officers assigned to the patrol division.  This division operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The patrol division is made up of both marked and unmarked patrol units. The patrol staff is normally the first to respond to service and emergency calls.  While everyone else typically runs away from trouble, and other emergency services such as Fire and Ambulance will wait until a scene is secure, these dedicated officers are the first to respond toward it, placing their lives in danger on a daily basis.

While many of the patrol officer's duties are reactive, the officers of the LaSalle Police Department Patrol Division take great pride in their proactive approach toward law enforcement, stopping many crimes before they happen or while they are occurring.

The LaSalle Police Department recognizes the tireless effort and dedication put forth on a daily basis by the members of the LaSalle Police Department Patrol Division and would like to thank them for their professionalism, service and countless sacrifices.


When God Created Police Officers

When the Lord was creat­ing police officers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime when an angel ap­peared and said, "You sure are doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order?

"A police officer has to be able to run five miles through alleys in the dark, scale walls, enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch, and not wrinkle his uniform. He has to be able to sit in an undercover car all day on a stakeout, cover a homicide scene that night, canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, and testify in court the next day. He has to be in top physical condi­tion at all times, running on black coffee and half-eaten meals. And he has to have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands ... no way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "it's the three pairs of eyes an officer has to have."

"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through a bulge in a pocket before he asks, 'May I see what's in there, sir?' (When he already knows and wishes he'd taken that accounting job.) Another pair here in the side of his head for his part­ners' safety. And another pair of eyes here in front that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say, 'You'll be all right ma'am,' when he knows it isn't so."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, " why don't you rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't, " said the Lord  "I already have a model that can talk a 250-pound drunk into a patrol car without incident and feed a family of five on a civil service paycheck."
The angel circled the model of the police officer very slowly, "Can it think?" she asked.

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the elements of a hundred crimes; recite Miranda warnings in its sleep; detain, investigate, search, and arrest a gang member on the street in less time than it takes five learned judges to debate the legality of the stop... and still it keeps its sense of humor."

"This officer also has phe­nomenal personal control. He can deal with crime scenes painted in hell, coax a confession from a child abuser, comfort a murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper how law enforcement isn't sensi­tive to the rights of criminal suspects."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the po­lice officer. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you were trying to put too 1nuch into this model."

"That's not a leak," said the Lord, "it's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's for bottled-up emo­tions, for fallen comrades, for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American flag, for jus­tice."

"You're a genius," said the angel.

The Lord looked som­berly at the angel and said. "I'm no genius; I didn't put the tear in his eye!"

- Author Unknown