Former Police Captain Continues Service in Parks Division
Steve Wills has found a new way to serve Woodbury residents after transitioning from a 30-year career with the Woodbury Police Department to the city's Parks and Forestry Division.
Wills, who retired from the police department in 2022 as investigations commander, now works on special projects and construction tasks for the Public Works Department. His current responsibilities include building repairs, concrete work, carpentry and maintaining park facilities.
During his police career, Wills progressed from patrol officer to sergeant, then captain overseeing the patrol division before becoming investigations commander. He cited solving multiple homicides and suicides as among his proudest professional moments, crediting teamwork for clearing all cases during a particularly challenging period.
98% of the people in Woodbury were very genuine, caring, polite people," Wills said, reflecting on his law enforcement experience. "It really made the job much easier.
Wills said his new role allows him to interact with residents during positive moments in their lives, contrasting with his previous work responding to emergencies. The Parks and Forestry Division is currently installing memorial benches as part of ongoing park improvements.
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Full analysis
This is a profile video featuring Steve Wills, a City of Woodbury employee who transitioned from a 30-year career in the police department to working in the Parks and Forestry Division of Public Works. The video shows him working on installing memorial benches and reflects on his career serving the community in different capacities.
Source document
[0:11] We are
forming up and excavating.
[0:14] Making a pad
for one of the memorial benches.
[0:17] Got the site prepped and ready,
[0:18] and we're going to be
bringing in concrete shortly.
[0:20] Once it's done, the bench
will be able to go on it then.
[0:23] My name is Steve Wills,
and I'm currently employed
[0:26] with the City of Woodbury
in the Public Works Department,
[0:28] and I work in the Parks
and Forestry Division.
[0:35] I currently work
[0:36] and do a lot of our
special projects and builds
[0:40] anything from constructing new
enclosures, building repairs,
[0:46] dirt work,
[0:47] concrete work,
[0:48] carpentry work, kind
of a little bit of everything.
[0:51] Probably start down there
and pull it this way.
[0:54] Yeah.
[0:54] I'm just trying to get
this edge here is all.
[0:57] Just make sure we don't have
too much or too little here.
[0:59] I say you just broom it.
[1:01] Good call.
[1:03] Before
parks, I worked for the city
[1:05] and the police department.
I worked there for 30 years.
[1:07] I started off
[1:08] as a patrol officer.
[1:09] After 4 or 5 years,
I was promoted to patrol
[1:11] sergeant.
[1:12] And I became a captain
and oversaw our patrol division.
[1:15] And then I was a investigations
commander until I retired
[1:19] in 2022.
[1:25] Proudest moment was towards
the end of my career.
[1:27] We had three homicides,
a couple suicides,
[1:30] and it was really
a tough stretch,
[1:31] and I was just so proud
of the coworkers I worked with.
[1:34] The team that we had
there really worked hard.
[1:37] All the cases were cleared,
all of them were solved,
[1:39] and there was such
a sense of teamwork.
[1:46] We'll the take the charge on it.
[1:47] Oh, yeah. Yeah.
[1:52] The one
day I know I'll always remember.
[1:54] We did.
[1:54] I think there was 7
or 8 search warrants
[1:56] that we executed the day.
Some simultaneously.
[1:59] The list of property
kept growing.
[2:00] And our last search warrant,
they opened the garage door,
[2:02] and it was literally
a storage unit
[2:04] that was full of stolen
property again.
[2:06] And someone snapped a picture
that you’ll see that
[2:09] Kind of summarized
how I was feeling that day.
[2:15] 98% of the people in Woodbury
[2:18] were very genuine, caring,
polite people.
[2:21] It really made the job
much easier.
[2:24] It pays off to do the job right
and treat people right.
[2:27] And, as it turns out,
it was a great career decision.
[2:30] I absolutely enjoyed it.
[2:31] And and had a lot of great
experiences there with that.
[2:44] Outside of police
work, I really enjoyed working
[2:48] in kind of remodeling
construction, outside type work.
[2:51] After my career
in law enforcement,
[2:52] I wanted to stay busy.
[2:54] The position was posted
and I was able to apply for it.
[2:56] And here I am today.
[2:58] It worked out great.
[3:04] I really enjoy
seeing the people in the parks
[3:07] and how much they appreciate
when they see us out there.
[3:10] Emptying a trash can,
fixing a door that's broken, or,
[3:13] some of the improvements
we've done around
[3:15] the pickleball courts,
stuff like that.
[3:16] Ultimately,
whether it in police and fire,
[3:19] you know,
with serving the community
[3:21] and probably helping them out
on some of their,
[3:23] their toughest days.
[3:24] And now in this role,
[3:26] I'm able to see people probably
[3:27] having some good days
in their life and,
[3:29] you know, seeing them
enjoying life that's rewarding.
[3:32] And so you do feel a
good sense of service there.
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