(Editor’s note: National Police Week is being observed from May 12-18.)

While he was attending Iowa State University and working as a juvenile court tracker for Mid-Iowa Community Action (MICA), Wyatt Shelangoski applied for a job with the Marshalltown Police Department “on a whim” to get his feet wet and learn more about the hiring process. A few months later, he received a conditional letter of employment before he had completed his academy training, and almost eight years later, Shelangoski has been recognized as the MPD’s employee of the year.

As a kid who grew up in the area around Brighton and Washington in southeast Iowa and graduated from Washington High School, Shelangoski, 29, said Marshalltown initially felt like “a big city” to him.

“When I came here, I didn’t know Marshalltown even really existed until I started working in Ames, and then this was a big city. This was huge to me. Now, it’s no longer a big city,” he said.

For Shelangoski, who was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant, the MPD has provided more opportunities for growth and advancement than he initially anticipated.

“The big thing for me was just how many things I was able to get myself involved in with (becoming a) firearms instructor and SWAT and field training and all of those things in a short amount of time,” he said. “So in the first few years of my career, I was really gaining a lot of ground getting into those positions.”

Another reason Shelangoski enjoys working here is the strong relationship between the MPD and the people who make up the community it serves — as evidence, he points to the new police/fire building made possible by a public bond vote in 2017 and the fact that they’re able to keep their vehicles and equipment up to date.

“We don’t struggle with that, and it’s because the public supports us with that. We get the tools that we need to perform our job safely, and that’s because of the public,” he said. “And then out on the street, I mean, I work nights, and it’s a different clientele at night than during the daytime a lot of times. But even at night, you get a lot of the people that still support us. You still have that community contact with people, and generally speaking, we are supported with the public. And that’s what keeps some of the officers here. That’s what keeps us happy. It’s a win-win for the public and the officers. It’s tough to work in a location where you don’t have the support from your department, your coworkers or your city, and I don’t think we have that here.”

Police Chief Mike Tupper praised Shelangoski as an officer who is passionate about his work and among the hardest working police officers he has known during his extensive law enforcement career.

“He is always looking for ways to improve himself and the department. Sgt. Shelangoski is an exceptional leader. He puts in a ton of time honing his craft and helping other officers build their skills,” Tupper said. “He has served our department as a field training officer. He has helped to train several officers. The officers he has trained are now performing for us at high levels. Sgt. Shelangoski is an exceptional teacher and coach.”

In addition to the wide variety of technical skills he brings to the table, Tupper added that the way Shelangoski goes about his work is infectious.

“Wyatt cares deeply for his co-workers and he comes to work each day with a smile. His attitude is exceptional. It is this positive attitude which sets him apart,” the chief said. “We are fortunate to have Wyatt on the MPD team. He is simply one of the best police officers I know. He is so very deserving of this recognition.”

With a long career in the field still ahead of him, Shelangoski has already achieved one major goal of being promoted to sergeant quicker than he thought he would, but he hopes to continue developing his skills as a trainer and see where that takes him. Down the road, he’d love to become a lieutenant, but he’ll cross that bridge when he gets there.

During an interview with the T-R, Shelangoski admitted that he initially didn’t see himself staying with the MPD long because he didn’t have any personal ties to the Marshalltown community, but as his subsequent career and this honor have demonstrated, his tone has shifted since then.

“In the first five years and now eight years, it definitely changed. I, for the longest time, planned on going back to my hometown, and I’ve had opportunities and I’ve chosen to stay here. It’s hard to walk away from what I have here. I just had my daughter and met my wife here, so it’s kind of hard to walk away.”

When asked what makes an MPD staff member employee of the year material, Shelangoski felt that a major key is versatility.

“A big part of that is just wearing all the hats. You’ve gotta kind of do a lot of different things. You’ve gotta be a professional in multiple different fields. In my opinion, that’s part of it. The other part of it is (being) willing to put in the work,” he said. “I think a lot of the other officers that I’ve seen get this award are people that are willing to do the work both to help each other and help the department. A lot of the other officers have really shown that they’ll stick their neck out and go the extra mile for some of these things… I think the big thing for that award is people that are willing to do the work, people that are proactive and are go-getters.”

Without naming them individually, Sgt. Shelangoski is thankful for all of the people who have helped him get to where he is today.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.