Exclusive interview with Police Chief Coontz: “I will never forget that day”

MANSFIELD — Despite a challenging five-year tenure as Mansfield Police Chief involving several tragedies in the community, Ken Coontz is moving up the ladder once again. Coontz will be retiring as Police Chief to become the City’s Human Resource Director. As the old adage claims, “You can’t keep a good man down.”

After getting baptized at age eighteen, Coontz decided to serve as a police officer, quickly rising thru the ranks, and receiving valuable advice from seasoned veterans on the police force.

“I had the privilege to work beside some great mentors in the department that really groomed me as a professional. I always say that GOD puts you where He wants you. Everything I went thru from when I first started on the force, to when I was promoted thru the ranks, was all preparation for me when I would later become Police Chief.”

According to Coontz, you also can’t keep a good city down.

When asked if Mansfield is different from other communities, Coontz answered by saying that the City of Mansfield is unique: in adversity, it rose to the occasion, literally.

“Yeah, Mansfield is different from other communities. It seemed ten years ago during that entire anti-police movement that was going on through our country, as different places were having riots and civil unrest, our police department’s partnership and ties with the community did not become strained, they became stronger.”

Coontz says that the relationship between the police department and with citizen and churches the last five years was “extremely important.”

“I gave my cell phone number out to people to let them know that I was available and accessible and I think that really built a lot of trust and transparency.”

When asked if he recalled any seemingly-improbable moments during his tenure that in retrospect gave him goose bumps, Coontz did not hesitate: “the Randallwood Drive standoff– I will never forget that day.”

“We had a guy randomly shooting at people from his house. The plan was for the SWAT Team to go in to dislodge the air conditioning unit to throw a tear gas canister into the garage and diffuse the situation. Four officers approached the house behind a little 2 foot by 3 foot armor shield and with our tactical rescue vehicle approaching nearby. But the AC unit didn’t budge.

“For some reason I felt compelled to go to the other side of the house and take a photograph of the four officers and the team with the rescue vehicle.

“I took the photograph and several seconds later the suspect fired multiple rounds upwards thru the window well with .223 caliber rifle ammunition from the basement beneath the garage. Two bullets went thru the shield and came within inches of the four officers’ heads and torsos. Unbeknownst to the officers, the suspect was only a minuscule ten feet away from the officers when he began firing.”

When the smoke had cleared, eighty bullet shells were recovered inside the next door neighbor’s house. The turret protecting one of the officers in the tactical vehicle was hit three times.

“It was nothing short of a miracle that none of the officers were killed or maimed that day. This is why citizens should pray for the police department-they are on the front lines and in harm’s way each and every day.”

Coontz says faith plays a big role in the community. “A lot of it begins at home, how a family teaches children morality and ethics integrated in faith. We see drug addiction many times in broken families, and without a doubt drug addiction is at the center of violent crimes.”

During the period of national turmoil and the local opiate epidemic, Coontz agrees that he saw GOD work simultaneously in people’s hearts to be proactive in working with the police to safeguard the city.

“We saw several community marches against drugs, the implementation of the Fugitive Task Force, and the Opiate Task Force with Mental Health and faith based groups partnering.

“The ‘We Act’ citizen group has been a phenomenal catalyst with the “Blue Light” and “National Police Week” campaigns, along with the community block parties.

“The churches contributed with their campaigns against marijuana and awareness on human trafficking. A group of clergy helped us shut down a human trafficking center which consequently uncovered a network. It is also helpful when the National Day of Prayer gets officials to come to the square to pray corporately.”

With an engaged community, crime in the city has dropped across the board each year consecutively over the last five years and violent crime has taken a nosedive and is at its lowest level in ten years.

Coontz adds, “It is always great when people that care for the community want to ride along with our officers to see the challenges our officers face. When people realize that the police department and citizens are on the same team, we really can achieve great things together and the city can be a safe place for our children.”