The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has chosen Brookfield Deputy Police Chief Michael Kuruvilla as one of its 40 Under 40 Award winners, featured in the September 2020 issue of Police Chief magazine.
Kuruvilla, 37, was nominated for the award, which includes 40 police officials under the age of 40 – from a dispatcher in Colorado to a major in the Spanish Guardia Civil to a detective inspector for the Ghana Police Service to the acting U.S. Marshal – by Brookfield Police Chief Edward Petrak on the suggestion of Lt. James Mihalik.
“Needless to say, I’m very proud of Mike,” said Petrak in an email announcing the award. “This is a tremendous honor for both Mike and our police department.”
In nominating Kuruvilla for the award, Petrak wrote that the deputy chief was “an up-and-coming leader in our ever-changing field of law enforcement. Over the last 14 years, I have watched Mike grow from an eager learner to a true leader in our police department. His positive and progressive attitude is infectious and makes him a strong, naturally suited leader.”
Kuruvilla, the first Indian-American hired by Brookfield police, joined the department in 2006 after obtaining a master’s degree in social work and then working as a police crisis worker in Brookfield.
“Although I have shed the formal title of social worker, my job still requires mediating between and for people in crisis and discord almost daily,” Kuruvilla wrote in his application for the award. “Our profession has shifted immensely in recent years to increased mental health awareness, and I have proudly led the charge to model and teach my department members and those in neighboring communities how best to serve those in need.”
In addition to his role as a deputy police chief, Kuruvilla and his wife volunteer with a nonprofit that serves the needs of at-risk women victimized by the adult entertainment industry and human/sex trafficking. Kuruvilla has been a member of the organization’s board for more than six years.
“My ability and the opportunity to provide someone who may be suffering and in pain even just a moment of reprieve and peace is important and fulfilling to me,” Kuruvilla wrote.
