On July 2, family, friends and local residents alike gathered at the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department to celebrate the retirement of Todd Gehrke: a man who has dedicated decades of valiant service to the community as police officer.

Upon stepping foot into the lively event space, visitors were instantly met with a table displaying some of Gehrke’s greatest accomplishments. Neatly placed atop the patterned tablecloth were plaques, medals and awards outlining Gehrke’s career history. Most prominently displayed, however, were photos of his most prized treasures: his two daughters, Mira and Elena, which empowered and encouraged him to do his best in service to the community each day.

Gehrke has felt deeply passionate about the art of service since his childhood. He said his inspiration to pursue a life dedicated to helping others first emerged through his identity as a Boy Scout as well as a kid with family members in leadership positions.

“My mom was an ER nurse for a long time, and then she was a nurse practitioner, so I kind of started out with that,” he said. “My dad was a Boy Scout leader, my brother was an Eagle Scout, and I was a scout, too. I just always kind of was in that service role.”

For Gehrke, assisting and responding to the needs of others offers a sense of purpose. He said when he was younger, he wanted to leave an impact on the world and be the change he wished to see. As he transitioned into young adulthood, this translated to him serving as a Navy hospital corpsman, which is essentially a combat trauma medic.

After five years of active military service, Gehrke attended Kirkwood Community College and Coe College to study sociology as well as public relations. He then worked with Coe, and later Cornell College, for a few years following graduation. It was not until 2003 — when Gehrke was in his 30s — that he became a full-time police officer, although he was a reserve officer for some time before this.

Gehrke very distinctly remembers his first few days working as a full-time officer with the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department; more specifically, he recalls being a “sponge” for all information and advice given to him by former police chief Doug Shannon, who was the sergeant at the time. Now a man who has worked in the role of a police officer for over 20 years, Gehrke has recently filled these same shoes by serving as a guide for younger officers.

Looking back on their time working together, Shannon said Gehrke was an exceptional officer due to a natural instinct to lead with his heart. Shannon explained empathy and compassion are skills that cannot be taught, so having these natural qualities made Gehrke a great fit for the job.

“It was an honor to work with him,” Shannon said. “He’s one of my best friends now, even now that we’re both retired.”

In addition to being a police officer, Gehrke began working as an emergency medical technician (EMT) with the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service. He also worked with the local fire department. Through a combination of these roles, he met current police chief Jason Blinks, who he later took under his wing when Blinks became a local officer around nine years ago.

“He was a good mentor,” Blinks said. “He worked well, went the extra mile to stay late or stay after his shift to make sure that all the new officers — me included — understood what we were doing or helped us with our work to make sure we got it done correctly.”

Despite the ups-and-downs of a career as a first-responder, Gehrke quickly realized this role helped him to achieve his sense of purpose to its fullest extent. After all, this role at its core is centered around being the first person to help someone who may be experiencing the most frightening moment of their life.

“You call and you expect or want somebody to show up, you know, and you hope that they will,” he said. “That’s what drove me.”

All these overwhelming twists-and-turns aside, Gehrke emphasized his love for this job came from his ability to create connections with members of the community and put a face to the people protecting it; which he was able to do through things like the D.A.R.E. program with local schools.

“That was something that I always looked forward to, trying to have real conversations with students about decisions…just telling them they can always do better,” he said.

In addition to decades of memories, Gehrke retired with special recognition. At the Mount Vernon City Council meeting June 15, Blinks presented him an Award of Valor due to him demonstrating an act of heroism in response to an incident Oct. 5, 2025.

The incident at hand involved a vehicle collision, attempted carjacking and armed subject, which put Gehrke’s life in immediate danger. This is a situation in which lethal force could have been used, but Gehrke exercised restraint. He was able to subdue the subject while preventing all involved parties and other civilians from being harmed.

“It was a pretty unique situation he was in that day,” Blinks said. “For him to hold himself the way he did was truly honorable.”

Thomas Wieseler, mayor of Mount Vernon, said he first met Gehrke when the two of them worked together at Coe. Reflecting on the history the two have as former colleagues and the longtime connection between them, Wieseler expressed surrounding communities are fortunate to have been under the care and protection of Gehrke for over two decades.

“They are very fortunate to have him working his shifts and taking care of his responsibilities in law enforcement to make a safer place for everybody,” Wieseler said. “I tip my hat to him there.”

Now freshly retired, Gehrke has multiple adventures he would like to pursue. Although he will continue working as a local EMT, he plans to travel the world, learn to play guitar and spend time with his loved ones. Although he will no longer work for the police department, echoes of his daily dad jokes and positive energy will remain in both the space and minds of his former colleagues.

Reflecting on an exhilarating rollercoaster of a career, Gehrke emphasized being a good police officer boils down to one thing: embracing empathy by humanizing every person, every story, and every call one is met with.

“Everybody’s got that story, and to invest your time in that is to invest in your community and give back,” he said.