Flossmoor Police Officer Tim Filkins, who last year arrested a bank robbery suspect who may have been on his way to commit another crime, has been promoted to the rank of sergeant. Filkins was officially sworn in as a sergeant at the Flossmoor Village Board meeting on March 5 at Village Hall.
congratulations from
Flossmoor Police Chief
Michael Pulec after
being sworn in at the
rank of sergeant. (Photo
by Carole Sharwarko/
H-F Chronicle)
Flossmoor Police Officer Tim Filkins, who last year arrested a bank robbery suspect who may have been on his way to commit another crime, has been promoted to the rank of sergeant. Filkins was officially sworn in as a sergeant at the Flossmoor Village Board meeting on March 5 at Village Hall.
According to Police Chief Michael Pulec, who offered a short statement before the swearing-in, Filkins became a member of the Flossmoor department in 2013, and was assigned as a shift leader less than two years later. His step-up comes after his assessment scores put him on the top of the promotion list.
“It is with great honor that I congratulate Sergeant Filkins on truly earning his advancement in rank,” Pulec told the crowd. “He acts as a mentor, leader, trainer, and I have complete faith he will continue to excel in his commitment to this department and the Village of Flossmoor.”
Filkins began his police career in Glenwood, then served on the force in Matteson for 10 years, rising to the rank of deputy chief. He then took a nearly decade-long hiatus to serve as a Baptist minister, even starting his own church.
In 2013, he returned to his life as a cop, this time with Flossmoor.
“I just felt the Lord’s calling into full-time ministry. I had a calling to leave law enforcement and become a pastor, and then I had a call to come back,” Filkins said. “I never stopped loving either one of those jobs.”
He continues his work as a pastor, now at First Baptist Church of Momence, leading a congregation of about 150.
On the Flossmoor Police Department, Filkins serves as a field training officer and as one of the department’s public information officers. He is also a domestic violence instructor and holds a range officer certification.
Filkins recently enrolled in his first class toward earning a master of criminal justice degree from Governors State University. He’s planning to take it slow, hopefully graduating in two years.
“We’ll see what kind of a workload I can take on with two jobs,” he said.
Around the south suburban law enforcement community, Filkins is probably best known as the officer who helped collar a bank robbery suspect last November. Filkins pulled the man over for speeding on Flossmoor Road and became suspicious, initiating a search of the man’s vehicle. That search led to the man’s arrest and bank robbery charges for a heist that took place two weeks earlier in Orland Park.
Pulec later said he believes the man was on his way to another robbery when he was stopped by Filkins.
Filkins said he is proud of the November apprehension.
“Actually, I was prouder of the people who worked with me on the call,” he said. “All I did was stop the car and noticed something suspicious.”
Because Filkins has previously served as a sergeant, he said there’s little learning curve for him in the role. He’s already settling into the role, and he appreciates the opportunity to lead others.
“At my age, I’d rather be in charge of people doing police work, rather than going out and getting the arrests myself,” he said.
Related story:
- Flossmoor traffic stop leads to arrest for bank robbery (Nov. 13, 2017)
