DAVID SCHMITZ

David Schmitz has been a police officer for the Green Bay Police Department for almost 15 years. During the past five years, he has worked as a Community Police Officer at a city elementary school. Tank Elementary School has a Community Police Office at the school, and there, many of the children have learned how to make their community a safer place to live.

Officer Schmitz enjoys his assignment and takes it seriously. He knows that many of the children may not have mentors or examples at home, and he strives to fill that void. He is in total agreement with the mission of the school and Community Policing and works tirelessly towards enhancing the community while he is both on and off duty. Though working with the children is a part of his job, he does not hesitate to handle any situation brought to his attention.

Officer Schmitz works well beyond his eight-hour day. His heart is for the children and he uses his energy to encourage them and help them get through difficult circumstances. Officer Schmitz has worked with troubled teens, youth who have run away or are contemplating running away, or youth who just need to talk.

The children at the school are proud to have Officer Schmitz with them. Officer Schmitz has lunch regularly with the students at school because he likes to stay in touch with them and be aware of how they are feeling and what challenges they are facing in their lives. This is by no means required by Green Bay Police Department, but it is Officer Schmitz’s choice. Not only does Officer Schmitz work with the school, but also he is quite active in other community organizations. He works with business owners, property owners, churches and civic organizations to promote the welfare of the Green Bay community.

Officer Schmitz is involved in many projects in Green Bay. He works with Character First. This program teaches positive character traits to students monthly and encourages them to utilize them in their daily life. He also devotes time to Shop with A Cop where he takes disadvantaged children to get Christmas presents for their family, Cops & Bobbers, where he takes children fishing for a day, and Clean Up Day, where he organizes and participates in litter pick-up with the children in the community. In addition to this, Officer Schmitz takes children to see Sesame Street Live as well as the Shrine Circus. He works at the community picnic and sits in the dunk tank, he is a Big Brother, and he is involved in the Police Athletic League/Boys & Girls Club after school program.

Officer Schmitz has a family and works, volunteers, and raises his three children. He was honored and awarded the Tank School – Spirit of Giving Award because of his dedication and commitment to Tank Elementary School. He is also a member for the Wisconsin Association of Community Oriented Policing (WACOP) and was recently elected treasurer.