Officer Mike Coughlin Celebrates 22 Years As A Hinsdale Police Officer

On Sunday, Officer Mike Coughlin celebrated 22 years as a Hinsdale Police Officer. Coughlin has been the department's crime prevention officer for the past 10 years and teaches many different community programs.

"Mike is arguably one of the most popular officers in Hinsdale. I can't tell you how many times I'll be driving around town, and many different kids will come up to my car saying, 'Officer Coughlin, Officer Coughlin, is that you?' only to realize—with disappointment—that it's not him," laughs Hinsdale Deputy Police Chief Mark Wodka. "But with each time someone comes up to me, I realize that that's one person that Officer Coughlin has had a positive impact on."

Wodka said Couglin has had a significant influence on many of the youth in the Hinsdale community. Coughlin was also the officer who started Hinsdale's Citizen Police Academy 10 years ago. He has coordinated programs on Violence Education Gang Awareness, Alive At 25, a young-driver intervention program, and the department's 13-week Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, among others.