Hanover Park honors retiring Sgt. Todd Carlson and swears in Andrew Lawler as police sergeant

HANOVER PARK, Ill. — The Village of Hanover Park recognized a longtime police sergeant’s retirement and promoted a patrol officer to sergeant at its Aug. 21 meeting.

Mayor Craig read a proclamation honoring Sergeant Todd Carlson’s 26 years of service, noting roles including patrol officer, detective, crime analyst and support services sergeant and highlighting Carlson’s work on department technology and intelligence projects. Chief of Police Andy Johnson summarized Carlson’s contributions and role in several department initiatives.

The recognition matters because village officials credited Carlson’s intelligence‑driven analysis and technical projects with improving the department’s investigations and communications. “Todd was instrumental in improving our department wide communication and information processing,” Chief Andy Johnson said, adding that Carlson led projects such as the rollout of in‑car and body‑worn cameras and the village‑wide emergency alert system. Johnson also said Carlson served as the department liaison to an anti‑terrorism fusion center and to the DuPage County Major Crimes Task Force.

During the same meeting Mayor Craig administered the oath to Andrew (Andy) Lawler, promoting him to the rank of police sergeant. Lawler was hired by the department on 06/20/2011 and has served in patrol, as a field training officer, bike officer, evidence technician and most recently as assistant team leader on his patrol shift. The board noted he is a recipient of a life‑saving award for performing CPR and holds a bachelor’s degree in aviation from Lewis University.

Chief Johnson described the sergeant role as the department’s primary frontline supervisory job, responsible for supervising and directing line officers. “Of all the supervisory roles, sergeant is the most fulfilling and is often the most fun,” Johnson said.

No formal board vote was recorded for the ceremonial promotion or proclamation. The meeting included family members for both events and concluded the recognitions before moving on to routine business.

Todd Carlson and Andrew Lawler were recognized publicly for distinct career contributions: Carlson for technical and analytical leadership across investigations and department systems, and Lawler for frontline patrol work and a documented life‑saving action.

City officials said they extended appreciation to Carlson for his years of service and congratulated Lawler on his promotion.