Many people might think of heroes as the people you have seen in comic books, or maybe on the Sunday morning cartoons; but what people usually don’t think of as heroes are the true heroes that help society everyday. Stillwater Police Officer Chris Felsch is just one of Stillwater’s finest heroes.

Becoming a police officer for Stillwater was a simple decision for Felsch. Felsch not only has worked for Stillwater Police Department for 21 years, but also grew up in Stillwater.

“I decided to become a police officer while I was going to college. Initially I was going to college to become a teacher. I have two cousins who are police officers and I started doing ride-alongs with them. After a summer of doing ride-alongs I changed majors and went down the road of law enforcement,” said Felsch. Only after having a little bit of a taste of what being a police officer is, Felsch knew that protecting the community was what he was supposed to do.

“It occurred on a Saturday morning. Dispatch notified SPD of a bank robbery in progress at the US bank in downtown Stillwater. I was the first officer on scene and there was no further information given,” said Felsch. He was the first one of the officers to respond to the robbery and bomb threat that happened in Stillwater on  June 8, 2013.

“I entered the bank and one of the tellers told me, ‘He just went down those stairs,’” said Felsch.

“I ran to Main Street, looked to the north and there the suspect was walking north. I continued running after him and he turned the corner. At this time one of my partners, who was driving the departments motorcycle, also saw the suspect walk around the corner. We both took the same corner and there was the bad guy getting into his pick up. My other partner also arrived and we took the suspect into custody at gunpoint,” explained Felsch.

“I was then advised by dispatch that there was a bomb left in the bank and the employees were evacuating the building. I then had to assume that if there was a bomb in the bank, there was a possibility there may be one in his truck.  When my partners searched the suspect the found he had a room key to the Lowell Inn so then I had to assume there may be a bomb in the Lowell Inn as well,” said Officer Felsch.

Later, he and the other officers who made the arrest received commendations for their great work. If Officer Felsch had not been at the bank at the time that he was, then he may not have gotten the suspect before he got away, and that makes him a hero.

Some people may think that cops have nothing better to do than set speed traps, or give parking tickets, but they do so much more for people’s safety than people even know. Police officers do all that they can physically do to keep the people in their community safe. They go through very scary experiences to create a safe environment for the citizens of Stillwater.

“A female showed up at her brother’s house, high on Meth and intended to kill him by shooting him with a rifle.  For whatever reason, after she threatened her brother, she decided not to shoot him. As she was walking away from the house, the family had already called the police.  As me and my partner arrived, I took cover behind a telephone pole, pointing my shotgun at her and telling her to drop the gun. As she stopped, she turned and pointed the rifle at me and just as I gave my second command to drop it, I was prepared to shoot her… she threw the rifle to the ground,” said Felsch describing a tough part of the job 10 years ago. This shows that even after 10 years, police officers can remember tragic events in detail. They would go through scarring events to ensure the safety of the community.

Not only do police officers do a variety of duties, all to benefit the city; but they all go through many terrifying experiences trying to save community members.

“What I most like about this job are the different challenges each day brings and the wide variety of calls we face,” said Felsch.

They risk their lives every day to ensure the safety of the people. They are true heroes and they continue to save people even when they do not know who they are.