Indian American Cop Set to Become the First Police Chief of Chicago Suburb

HI INDIA NEWS DESK

BROOKFIELD, IL- Michael Kuruvilla, who has served as deputy police chief in Brookfield, Illinois, since September 2019, has been selected by Brookfield Village manager Timothy Wiberg to be the village’s new police chief, the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark reports.

Kuruvilla, a veteran on the force for the past decade and a half, will assume the post July 12, taking over for Chief Edward Petrak.

The Indian American police chief was the only candidate interviewed for the job and had been recommended by Petrak for the post.

The son of Indian immigrants with a master’s degree in social work, Kuruvilla is the first Indian American and South Asian to ascend to the rank of police chief in Brookfield (near Chicago), the report noted.

“Coming into this, especially coming from an immigrant family, police work was not something on the radar as an option growing up,” Kuruvilla, who earned his MSW from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2006, said in the report. “I didn’t know anyone in law enforcement.”

After college, Kuruvilla first worked as a civilian crisis worker with the Brookfield Police Department before becoming a cop, it continued.

“I came here and wanted to do my best and go as far as I could, but I didn’t make the assumption that this was going to be my role,” Kuruvilla recalled, telling the Landmark. “But seeing where law enforcement and the Brookfield Police Department is headed, I quickly found that my passion for the work has grown over the years.”

The past year has highlighted calls for reform across many industries, including on law enforcement in the wake of several high-profile police brutality cases, something Kuruvilla does not shy away from, the Landmark said.

“Of course, racial equality, diversity and inclusiveness are important, and we want to make sure we’re providing fair, equitable service,” Kuruvilla said. “But there’s a need for us to address more than just crime, and we’re being asked to widen our reach and services, and a lot of that has to do with the mental health component.”

Kuruvilla told the Landmark that being a person of color is an undeniable aspect of his role as a police officer, something that informs his approach to policing.

“The plight of the African-American community versus the Indian-American community is not the same, but I can sympathize with what other minorities are faced with,” said Kuruvilla in the report.

Last fall, the International Association of Chiefs of Police named Kuruvilla one of its 40 Under 40 winners as an up-and-coming leader in law enforcement.