LYNWOOD | Now that he has retired from the Lynwood Police Department after 31 years, Sgt. Denis Tatgenhorst is going to Disney World.

Tatgenhorst retired July 3, the first Lynwood police officer to retire with a full 30-plus years of service. His wife, Denise, surprised him with a trip to Disney World later that week.

It was just the beginning of an exciting and surprising month for the former head of the juvenile department in Lynwood.

Tatgenhorst began his police career in 1969 when he became a cadet in Glenwood.

"I wanted to try the cadet program and see if police work was as exciting as it appeared to be," Tatgenhorst said. "I found out that it was much more detailed than I realized. But I also had caught the fever, and knew I wanted to stay in the police line of work for my life."

After high school, Tatgenhorst became a part-time officer in East Hazelcrest.

He worked for a while in Thornton before landing the full-time job in Lynwood on May 12, 1977.

"Lynwood was a very small community at the time," Tatgenhorst said. "There were about 1,000 people total when I started. The growth potential was there, and over the years we grew steadily."

So did the sergeant's skills. He became the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, officer at Sandridge Elementary School, spent time as an evidence technician and worked as an investigator.

But it was his work with the youth of Lynwood that always was first in his heart.

"I always loved working with kids," Tatgenhorst said. "My favorite part of the job was stopping and talking to kids out on the streets. I wanted to make sure that the kids understood we wanted what was best for them."

Tatgenhorst was known as an officer who would pull his squad car to the curb and spend 15 minutes playing basketball with local kids under a streetlight. He finished his career as the head of the juvenile department, as well as a negotiator for the Fraternal Order of Police. Tatgenhorst also is president of the pension board for the FOP.

While he has seen many technological changes during the years, including the introduction of computers and DNA testing, Tatgenhorst said two things remained constant -- the people and the crimes.

"The people are basically the same," Tatgenhorst said. "You have good people who want to live a normal, peaceful life, and then you have criminals who want to cheat the system.

"The advancements in technology may change the way a criminal commits a crime, but it's still the same crime."

On July 14, Tatgenhorst started a new job as the community director of policing in Minooka.

"This a civilian position where I will be a liaison between the village and the many youth programs they have," Tatgenhorst said. "This will provide me the opportunity to stay involved with kids and help bring my experience to another community."