Former Elgin Police Chief Charles Gruber, who’s credited with bringing community policing to the city, has died.
“Chuck Gruber and (former Deputy Chief Eric Isom) were the driving force and creative power behind the ROPE program in the city of Elgin that has gained us recognition across the entire country,” Mayor Dave Kaptain said at Wednesday’s Elgin City Council meeting in announcing Gruber’s death.
The ROPE program has generated the “best police officers in the county. It’s proven by the number of police chiefs around the United States that came from the city of Elgin and the ROPE program,” Kaptain said. “It’s part of (Gruber’s) legacy.”
Gruber, 74, of St. Charles died Monday.
Former Police Chief Jeff Swoboda, now police chief in Fort Collins, Colorado, worked under Gruber as did Cecil Smith, police chief in Sanford, Florida; Schaumburg Police Chief Bill Wolf and Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea, who is retiring this week.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about him today,” said Wolf, who was hired by the Elgin Police Department in 1992. When he graduated from the police academy, Gruber was the keynote speaker. Things came full circle Thursday when Wolf was the keynote speak during the academy graduation that included some Schaumburg police officers, he said.
“He was someone who had a dramatic impact on my career and someone I truly respected,” he said.
Wolf had more interaction with Gruber than many of those in the department because he was a ROPE officer, he said. The program gained national attention and put Wolf and other officers, including Swoboda, into the spotlight.
“(Gruber) took Elgin police to a new level of community engagement and set the tone for many years to come and the level of community involvement that the police department does today. He was the impetus for starting it all,” Wolf said.
Gruber started his law enforcement career with the Addison Police Department after returning from Vietnam in 1968. He became the youngest police chief in the state in 1976 when tapped for the job in Quincy, and then moved on to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he also served as chief, according to his obituary.
He returned to Illinois when selected to be the new Elgin chief in 1990. After retiring from the Elgin job in 1998, he later served as the South Barrington police chief until his second retirement in 2008, his obituary said.
Gruber also started a private consulting company, using his 40-plus years of police experience to review, evaluate and problem-solve law enforcement issues.
During his career, Gruber served as president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
“Throughout his life he held a love for golf, was always fast on his feet on the dance floor and his laughter was infectious,” his family wrote in his obituary. “He always went out of his way to treat everyone with respect. He was kind, just and fair, and above all loved life.”
Gruber is survived by his wife of 51 years, Linda; three children, Daniel, of San Diego, and Gini (Zain) Shahzada and Kenneth, both of Los Angeles; three granddaughters, Alexis Gruber and Gisele and Scarlett Shahzada; and his siblings, Ellen (Steve) Grinstead, Steven (Gigi), Peter (Sue), and Suzanne.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday, May 2, at Laird Funeral Home, 310 S. State St. (Route 31), Elgin. A funeral mass is to be held at 10 a.m. Monday, May 3, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 6N491 Crane Road, St Charles. Burial will follow at St. Michael’s Cemetery, Wheaton.
St. Patrick’s Church requests anyone attending the funeral mass register at this link: www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C4AAFA72FA3F85-charles.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
