2015 Officer of the Year magazine article Cooley

On June 29, 2015, at the annual Law Enforcement Training Conference, Kansas City Police Officer Jason Cooley was presented the 2015 Hank Johnson Officer of the Year Award. Officer Cooley was nominated by Major Richard Smith, Commander of the East Patrol Division. It is apparent from the information provided by Major Smith that Officer Cooley was most deserving of this award. The following is a portion of the documentation for Officer Cooley’s nomination.

Officer Jason Cooley is assigned as the Community Interaction officer at the East Patrol Division, the same assignment his father, retired Officer John Cooley, held for several years. Living up to the very high bar set by his father was a challenge but one that Officer Cooley has lived up to.

Each patrol division within KCPD has its own character and much of East Patrol’s character belongs to Officer Jason Cooley. What makes Officer Cooley stand out is his ability to see potential in an event or relationship that makes a difference. Officer Cooley has built and maintained sincere relationships that will have lasted for years. It is these relationships that hold the community of East Patrol together and Officer Cooley’s influence that gives the division character.

Officer Cooley is most often found touring East Patrol looking for ways to provide assistance. The following are a few examples of how Officer Cooley is proactively striving to connect with the community he serves.

  • Officer Cooley wanted to connect with the Hispanic community within East Patrol; so he set up a coffee meeting in plain clothes so attendees wouldn’t be uncomfortable. The Hispanic community now feels more at ease in communicating with officers.
  • One of these tours took Officer Cooley to the PAL center where there was a need for computers. Through his contacts within the community a funding source for fifteen computers was located and those computers were donated. Officer Cooley has no direct relationship to the PAL center but when made aware of an issue he did what he always does; he assisted, providing the help he could in order to get the issue resolved.
  • Officer Cooley helped publicize that Senton Center had air conditioners for the seniors who were without the ability to cool their residences. Within a day an East Patrol officer made a call to a senior that was in desperate need of an air conditioner and soon received a brand new window unit.
  • He identified two residents who were in need of additional lighting on their front porches, Officer Cooley was aware of a grant that had funds for such an issue; he secured the lighting and then asked another EPD officer to assist in getting the lights installed.
  • Even though there was no funding for this specific project, Officer Cooley was able to get a vacant residence that was a safe harbor for criminals demolished by the city. Through his tenacity, Officer Cooley persuaded elected city leaders the destruction of this vacant residence would and did indeed bring calm and peace to a neighborhood that had been plagued with quality of life issues.
  • Because of Officer Cooley’s dedication to the citizens of East Patrol Division, he was recognized with an Officer Cooley Appreciation Day at the East Side Can Center in 2014. He also was the recipient of the 2014 Brick-By-Brick Award from the Kansas City Industrial Council where Officer Cooley was recognized for contributing to the growth and development of Kansas City’s industrial areas.

There are countless other examples of his service to the citizens in the East Patrol Division. In visiting with Officer Cooley, he gives credit, and rightfully so, to the men and women of the Kansas City Police Department who keep an eye out for citizens who are in need of services police departments do not offer.

In an interview with Officer Cooley he made the statement, “I serve the community as if I were serving God directly………and I am!”