Page 22 - November 2019 FOP

Portraits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
‘The best partner you could ever have’
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From a young age, kids fan- tasize about what they want to be when they grow up. Some aspire to be a superhero, like in the movies, or an astronaut who defies gravity light years away.
For Kevin Keel, all it took was a trip to the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., to get a glimpse into his future and de- cide that he would be a law en- forcement officer.
“My parents took me when I was 11 or 12,” Keel remem- bers. “From that point on, I knew where I was headed ca- reer-wise.”
Now, with nearly 40 years on the job and retirement this month, Keel looks back on that trip as a pivotal moment; one that began a rewarding journey across the thin blue line.
“I’ve thought a lot about what retirement will be like,” Keel ponders. “I’ve been work- ing since I was 14. Retirement is kind of the unknown.”
KEVIN KEEL AND K-9 V VORRA Star #13326
It seems only fitting that Vvorra is pictured alongside Keel in this portrait, since for the past nine years, the two have worked side by side.
“I like to think we’ve made a difference, at least as far as being a deterrent to terror and homeland security,” Keel explains, before sharing that in addition to being a reliable partner, Vvorra is also ex- tremely accommodating.
“You didn’t have to worry about the biggest discussion of the day, which is where you’re going to eat lunch,” Keel muses. “Obviously, the communication is a little dif- ferent. What you’re assigned to do is quite a bit different. But she’s usually pretty dedi- cated to me, as am I to her.”
As a K-9 handler, Keel be- came part of a unique family within the law enforcement realm. That shared experience among officers who walk the beat with a four-legged part-
Keel’s history earning a daily wage started in his teenage years, when he got his first job at a sportsman’s club in Chicago.
In 1980, the Chicago native took the oath as a sworn officer for the Chicago and North Western Transportation Co. (now Union Pacific Railroad), where his first assignment was protect- ing the railway and all its travelers.
“All the tracks we were responsible for pretty much traveled to the housing projects of Chicago,” Keel notes. “We were there day in and day out, trying to protect the freight as it was stored there from burglaries, criminal damage and arson.”
After six years with the Chicago Railway Police, Keel moved to the suburbs, where he worked for 10 years at the Deerfield Police Department before returning to Union Pacific Railroad. He be- came a Chicago Police Department Officer in 1999.
From his beginning in the Sixth District, where he worked on the special operations unit, to working in the 19th District on a mobile strike force, Keel has had plenty of riveting experiences on the job. But his career was forever changed when he became a CPD K-9 handler in 2010 with Unit 704.
“I’ll make the argument that [a K-9] is probably the best part- ner you could ever have,” Keel insists, referring to his sidekick and explosive detection dog Vvorra.
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ner became notably apparent when the special units officer was selected as one of many K-9 officers from across the country to work the 2017 NFL Super Bowl
game in Minnesota.
“The officers who get to work [the Super Bowl] think it’s an
honor,” shares Keel, who had put his name on a list to volunteer at the biggest U.S. sporting event of the year. “A lot of us saw our classmates from K-9 school [in Texas]. It’s kind of like a fraternity or social organization once you get together.”
Nearly 40 years of service will give anyone a host of proud ac- complishments. But as Keel approaches retirement day, he cred- its something close to his heart as his greatest achievement.
“It’s actually the stuff outside of the department —⁠ my family,” Keel insists. “I think that’s mine and my wife’s biggest accom- plishment. Honestly, I picked a winner.”
Aside from his partner Vvorra, Keel feels lucky to have found a life partner as special as Nancy. During the couple’s 38 years of marriage, Keel has gained three children, five grandchildren and a prosperous career in the profession he was destined for, and he couldn’t ask for more.
“I’m proud to have stayed with [the job] for as long as I have,” Keel confirms. “It’s about doing your job and coming to work with a smile on your face every day. That’s as simply as I can put it.”