Dupage Policy Journal

Officials from Hanover Park welcomed their two newest officers to their police force alongside family members to be sworn into the village department at their April 6 board meeting. Mayor Rodney Craig brought up Mario Mejia-Cardenas and Ashlie Swanson to administer their oaths and introduce them to the village. 

Mejia-Cardenas was hired in December 2022 and began work at the law enforcement academy, with an expected graduation date of April 28. The recruit has bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and psychology and enjoys fishing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in his free time. Swanson was also hired in December and will graduate at the end of April. She also has her degree in criminal justice and enjoys animals, weightlifting and riding her motorcycle in her spare time. Her family was also in attendance to pin her badge as Chief Andrew Johnson welcomed both of the officers to the force.

As the new officers were welcomed to the force, the village also made a proclamation in honor of its emergency communicators, the dispatchers behind all of the 911 calls and responses made throughout the community. April 9-15 is national emergency telecommunicators week in the state of Illinois, and Mayor Rodney Craig credited DuComm, the dispatch center that handles calls from Hanover Park, for its incredible performance. 

Representatives from DuComm, and the Hanover Park police and fire departments were in attendance for the swearing-in and stayed for the recognition of their dispatchers.

"I personally want to thank you and your peers at DuComm for your good work," Craig said, addressing a representative from DuComm. "I see the recognition on the wall, and I hear you're on that wall... so please pass along my sincere appreciation for all of the support of people that call 911 at our distress. You have an excellent way of coaching and getting people through, and our police and fire respond respectfully. and I think they're all here tonight just for you."

Among other discussions, the village also heard a resident speak about their efforts to provide for policemen who have been injured, or the families of officers killed in the line of duty, raising funds to care for the family left behind after any incident. The board also heard some concerns about the new license plate reader cameras it had approved for the village, and reassured residents that they were not surveillance cameras, but rather intended to act as an additional support feature for police to be able to do investigative work if there is an active crime in the area.