Ralph Mieszala said the hat he wears best is the one he wears most: that of an Evanston police officer.
Five nights a week, Mieszala sports his navy blue baseball cap emblazoned with the EPD emblem while he patrols the streets as part of the burglary detail team.
“I really like the role of a police officer because it encompasses it all,” Mieszala said as he sipped his nightly cup of coffee from White Hen Pantry. “From chasing the really bad guys to changing tires on the side of the road, I get a lot of satisfaction from this job.”
Sgts. Barbara Wiedlin and James Pickett — both have worked the night shift with Mieszala — showed their appreciation for his hard work when they recommended him for the “Officer of the Year” award, which he will receive Tuesday at a celebratory luncheon at the Holiday Inn.
“Ralph has a doggedness you don’t find in most people,” Wiedlin said. “He just won’t give up.”
Wiedlin recounted an incident from several years ago when Mieszala spotted a burglar at Main Street and Chicago Avenue. He pursued the burglar for five hours and finally arrested him, she said.
“He gives 110 percent, and he does it consistently,” Wiedlin said. “I look forward to going back to the midnight shift and working with him.”
Mieszala is one of 11 EPD officers who works from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. His duties include sitting in an unmarked car or riding around on a bicycle, always looking for burglars.
“It’s not your normal 9-to-5 job,” he said. “It’s not boring because you never know what’s going to happen or who you’ll run into.”
Mieszala began working at EPD in 1979. He worked in the patrol division for 10 years and then moved on to the detective bureau for another six years. He has spent the rest of his time working on burglary detail.
“My best moment happened a number of years ago when I was working on a case involving a homicide of a local cab driver,” Mieszala said. “I got the suspect to confess to the murder, and we hadn’t even found the body yet.”
People appreciate even the small things he does to help them out, Mieszala said.
“One night I took a lady who was mentally unstable to the hospital,” he said. “She was really appreciative. It’s amazing how being compassionate about the little things can make you feel really good.”
Although Mieszala has been a police officer for about 20 years, he said he initially wore a different uniform.
“I started out flipping burgers at McDonald’s and was thinking about going into management,” he said. “But that didn’t work out. I didn’t get along with one of my managers so I quit.”
Mieszala said one of his brothers was a firefighter with the U.S. Department of Defense at the time, and he suggested that he join the force. Soon after, Mieszala took the civil service test and became a police officer.
“I’m kind of leery of heights, so I knew the fire department thing wasn’t for me,” he said. “But I’m really glad I became an officer.”
About a year ago, Mieszala began wearing the hat of not only a police officer but of a humanitarian as well. With a donation jar in EPD’s lobby, he and fellow officers raised about $1,300 for an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
Mieszala’s brother, Raphael, is involved with the Brothers of Good Shepard, a religious order that finds places to house mentally challenged children. While working at the Haitian orphanage Ecole Divine Providence, Raphael became friends with its director, Sister Marie Judith Clerfond. When the group moved on to a new location, Raphael passed Clerfond’s name along to Mieszala, who continued to support her.
“Sister Clerfond doesn’t have the continual backing of a large order, so she really needs money to support the children,” Mieszala said. “We’ve sent her money for vaccinations and books for the children, as well as a bunch of little rosaries and Catholic items that she gives to them as rewards.”
Just as significant as Mieszala’s role as a humanitarian is his job as a father — and he said he wears that hat everyday.
“My kids are my biggest accomplishment,” he said about his children, Michael, 19; Matthew, 21; and Christine, 23. “Unfortunately, togetherness has been relegated to occasions such as holidays and birthday parties because of our conflicting schedules.”
Mieszala said his children have always been a priority in his life and he has made the effort to watch them grow up, no matter the time of day he has been required to work.
“My wife and I used to be scout leaders,” he said, “and we even tried raising foster kids for awhile. Even though we were constantly running and passing each other, there was always a lot of love in the house — and there still is.”
Mieszala said becoming a police officer has made him realize his scope of influence in other people’s lives.
“I can’t change the world,” Mieszala said, “but I can do something about the burglaries and armed robberies in my community. I’m proud of all I’ve done, and I just hope to pass on a little of my experience to the younger people in this world.”
