By Jennifer Gomori, POLC Editor

Six POLC-represented Police Officers were recognized for their heroic and lifesaving efforts with 2026 POLC Outstanding Service Awards. Two Bath Township Officers, three Flint Police Officers, and one Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputy were honored during the POLC/GELC Annual Conference in Traverse City on Sept. 25, 2025.

BATH TOWNSHIP POLICE OFFICERS
Bath Township Police Sgt. Marcus Siedelberg and Ofc. Jacob Belknap were recognized for their bravery during a chaotic 7-minute chase involving a suspect breaking into occupied homes, assaulting residents, and holding a hostage at knifepoint.

“Throughout that time, Sgt. Siedelberg and Ofc. Belknap displayed personal courage and outstanding tactics, while staying in the fight until the offender was in custody and the community was safe,” POLC Labor Rep. Scott Eager wrote in his nomination for the Outstanding Service Awards (OSAs).

Sgt. Siedelberg responded to reports of a man attempting to break into cars and entering a garage on Nichols Rd. on July 12, 2025. A man on the porch said he and his roommate were being beaten by an intruder. “Sgt. Siedelberg attempted to call the suspect out to the door of the house, but he did not comply. Siedelberg heard screams from inside and entered the residence,” Eager wrote. “Siedelberg announced his presence and heard the victim say, ‘he’s stabbing me.’”

Sgt. Marcus Siedelberg

Ofc. Belknap arrived and ran into the home. He met up with Siedelberg in the living room and saw the offender holding a knife to the victim’s neck. Siedelberg ordered him to drop the knife several times. The suspect moved toward a side door, let the victim go, and ran outside. The victim had non-life-threatening injuries. “Sgt. Siedelberg followed the suspect, knife still in hand and wearing a backpack, out the back door, while Ofc. Belknap exited through the garage in an attempt to flank him,” Eager wrote. “The suspect ran toward the roadway, ignoring commands to drop the knife, stop, and get on the ground. The suspect posed a continuing threat to the public as he ran through the residential neighborhood, so Siedelberg and Belknap fired several shots at the suspect as he ran.” 

The suspect, Bailey William Glazier, 27, of East Lansing, entered an English Oak Dr. home via an open garage door and locked it. The officers attempted to kick-in the front and garage doors while yelling ‘police open the door.’ “There’s a good chance he was holding the homeowners hostage with a knife or stabbing or hurting them, and we had to do everything we could to make sure that did not happen,” Siedelberg said.

The homeowner opened the front door and Glazier fled out a slider door, ignoring officers’ commands. Siedelberg fired one shot at Glazier, who ran inside the next-door neighbor’s open garage. Officers took him to the floor, but he refused to put his hands behind his back, so Siedelberg tased him. While handcuffing him, officers observed several gunshot wounds to his torso, called EMS, and began first aid. Glazier was taken to the hospital in stable condition. The Nichols Rd. victims were treated at the scene, with the hostage having superficial lacerations. 

Ofc. Jacob Belknap

Glazier’s charges included assault with intent to murder; two counts each of first-degree home invasion and assault with a dangerous weapon among others. He pled not guilty by reason of insanity and was ordered to be treated at a psychiatric facility.

“I’m thankful my leadership trains our department in situations like this, and we were able to make high-risk decisions as quickly as possible,” said Siedelberg. “To get the recognition from such a big corporation is outstanding. I was in shock and very thankful to have such an excellent Labor Union! In today’s day and age, it is very important. It makes officers feel they’re still needed to help the community. It’s awesome, it really is, to show that support for us!”

“It was quite a hectic, chaotic day. I was just glad I could be there and do everything in my power to stop that,” Belknap said. “The fact that we are getting accolades in the climate of today’s law enforcement means the world to me!”

BERRIEN COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY
In less than 2 minutes, Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputy Cal Landon’s roadside investigation turned into a foot chase, with him being fired upon and making a split-second decision that saved his life and stopped the threat to the community.

On June 30, 2025, Deputy Landon was investigating a car with a blown out rear window parked on a Third St. private driveway in Niles Township. He saw a man and woman walking on commercial property and asked them for identification. The male, later identified as 48-year-old Joshua Coffey of South Bend, Indiana, approached his car, then quickly fled. Landon pursued, calling for backup. “As Landon was chasing Coffey, Landon drew his Taser and warned Coffey that he was going to get tased,” wrote POLC Labor Rep. Scott Eager in his OSA nomination letter.

Coffey stopped by a tree and fence in a park. “As Coffey faced Landon, he shielded his right hip and arm from Deputy Landon’s view,” Eager wrote. “Landon continued to warn Coffey that he was going to get tased and to get on the ground while simultaneously transitioning his taser from his gun hand to his weak hand.”

Landon ordered him to show his hands and Coffey acted like he was surrendering, holding his left arm in front of him and putting his head down. “I stopped giving commands after he stopped to kneel, then he started shooting,” Landon said.

“Deputy Landon reacted quickly by moving, ditching his taser, drawing his duty weapon and returning fire, all in less than one second,” Eager wrote. “His aim was true and accurate, striking Coffey even as Landon was falling backward onto the ground …. Landon immediately popped back up into a sitting position, reacquired the lethal threat of Coffey, and fired one round.”

“I don’t think I was dodging the bullets, but it was just kind of what they teach us in the academy — get off the X,” Landon said. “… if the person sees you move off that X to a different location, they need time to think and come at me again. That was my best attempt … to get a safe distance. Everything happened so fast. I was informed that all of my shots had hit. The training at the department … just kicked in, and I did what I had to do.”

Coffey died from his injuries. “Miraculously, Deputy Landon was not struck by any of the rounds that Coffey fired at him from a very close range. Sheriff Chuck Heit, in press accounts, credited this to the grace of God, Landon’s personal courage, and training,” Eager wrote. “Deputy Landon’s actions and skill that day are in keeping with the highest standards of law enforcement, and he should be recognized with the Outstanding Service Award.” 

“I’m entirely grateful. It’s an excellent thing to receive and be recognized for, especially this early in my career,” said Landon, who had less than 2 years of service at that time. “I got very, very lucky that day! I had someone watching over me definitely.” 

FLINT POLICE OFFICERS
Flint Police Ofc. Michael Catlin was shot multiple times while saving a woman from a gunman on March 31, 2026. Flint Police Lt. Terry VanKeuren, Jr. and Ofc. Brett Morin’s decisive actions helped save Catlin’s life.

The officers were searching for Delon Savage, 47, of Flint who entered his ex-girlfriend’s home the night before and held a gun to her head, threatening to shoot her. While driving by her parents’ home on Colonial Dr., Catlin saw Savage pistol whipping the victim in the front yard. “Ofc. Catlin feared the victim was in immediate, imminent danger of death, risked his own life, approached and engaged the armed suspect,” wrote Flint Police Lt. Esther Campbell, a POLC Executive Committee member, in her OSA nomination letter.

“He has the back door open and is trying to stuff her in the car,” Catlin said. “He’s kidnapping her and trying to kill her. If I don’t do something, she’s probably not here today. I pop out immediately. I yell ‘Police drop the gun!’ I don’t make it past the front of my car before he starts shooting. I can’t shoot back. He has her in front of him.”

Catlin was struck several times in the hip and legs and fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. The victim escaped when Savage retreated into his car. Catlin radioed he was shot. “I’m on my back behind my car, playing turtle, rolling and returning fire,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep him in the car. If he advances, he’s over the top of (my) car … and kills me.”

Savage fled in his vehicle when Ofc. Jacen Bausick arrived. Bausick pursued him, joined later by more Flint Officers, while Lt. VanKeuren called an ambulance for Catlin. “He’s in and out of consciousness, just giving me the thousand yard stare,” VanKeuren said.

VanKeuren applied a tourniquet and began loading Catlin into Catlin’s Chevrolet Malibu when Ofc. Morin arrived to help. Morin rendered first aid as VanKeuren raced to Hurley hospital. “Ofc. Morin tightened the tourniquet more on Ofc. Catlin’s leg, and with his bare hands, began to apply immediate pressure to other areas of his leg that he observed gunshot wounds … He also offered continuous reassurance to Ofc. Catlin. Ofc. Morin later described his actions as ‘putting his fingers in all the holes he saw blood coming from,’” Campbell wrote. 

“You could see the whites of his eyes. They were slowly rolling to the back of his head,” Morin said. The 6-foot-3-inch-tall officer barely fit in the back seat. “The first right turn Jr. takes the door flew open on my side … and I had to slam the car door shut. The whole sequence of events was kind of wild.”

Morin called 911 to notify the hospital they were on the way as the car’s tire was going flat, damaged from gunshots. “L.T. was driving like NASCAR – 100 percent, they’re the reason I’m still here today,” Catlin said. “We pull into Hurley and the back gates are shut still. We ram the back gate and everyone outside Hurley panics. We’re in an unmarked car.”

“I went inside and let the trauma nurses know what we had going on so they were as ready as they could be,” VanKeuren said. “The nurse told me after he went up to the OR that his blood pressure was 50 over 30, and he didn’t have much longer.”

“Lt. VanKeuren Jr.’s and Ofc. Morin's quick decision-making, unusual alertness, and immediate action, saved the life of Ofc. Catlin. Without them, Ofc. Catlin may not have survived his injuries while waiting for medical treatment,” Campbell wrote. “The collaborative efforts of Lt. VanKeuren Jr. and Ofc. Morin displays the highest in law enforcement standards when it comes to saving the life of a fellow officer shot in the line of duty. Ofc. Catlin’s service in the line of duty, requiring exceptional bravery and courage in risking his own life in which a life was saved, perpetuates the highest standards in Law Enforcement. Without Ofc. Catlin intervening, the female victim would likely have been a fatality of domestic violence.” 

Savage shot at police during the chase, fled on foot with the gun, and was struck by a police cruiser. After treatment, he was arraigned on 27 felony charges, including assault with intent to murder, and was referred for a mental competency evaluation. Catlin returned to light duty in June, still in physical therapy and facing two more operations. “It was incredible to watch everyone from our team, patrol, and hospital staff. It was really impressive how well all these different units worked together for the best outcome,” Catlin said.

“It’s an honor that I think the guys deserve more than I do,” Catlin said of the OSA. “I wasn’t going to sit there and let this woman get kidnapped or murdered. I am thankful for all the training to put me in the spot where I had the ability to survive this gunfire. If it wasn’t for Brett and L.T. and Jacen, I wouldn’t be here. They saved my life.”

“It’s overwhelming – it’s very unexpected,” VanKeuren said. “I feel very appreciated by my peers. It was very chaotic. It was two totally separate scenes, where Catlin was shot and where they finally got (Savage) out.”

“I’m ecstatic to even be nominated and for you guys to accept and honor us for what we did,” Morin said. “I just wish it wasn’t at almost the cost of losing my brother. I felt like I just solved a problem, as many officers would. The greatest award we had is Catlin is alive and breathing today!”