Morton Grove Police Department named 2025 Destination 0 national winner for officer safety

Mayor (Village President) and trustees announced on Aug. 26 that the Morton Grove Police Department has been named the 2025 Destination 0 national winner for General Officer Safety by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

Chief Mike Weitzel, who accepted the recognition, said the department began working on Destination 0 in 2022 and that the effort reflects a multi-year focus on reducing injuries and deaths among officers and improving safety and wellness programs. “Our goal truly our goal is to make sure we do everything possible so our officers, our sergeants, our commanders, our civilian personnel finished their careers as healthy physically and mentally as they walk in our our door, if not better,” Weitzel said.

Weitzel said the department entered the program to review and improve internal processes, not to win an award, and credited current and past personnel for the work. He remembered Sergeant Jason Lehi, who worked on the project and died of cancer, and he thanked staff members and volunteers including Mike Johansson, who compiled the department's work for the competition. Weitzel described the award as recognition of years of internal work and said the department will continue to pursue safety improvements.

The village reading of the announcement said the department was selected as the top winner nationwide, beating larger departments and budgets, and that the Destination 0 initiative aims to provide a platform for agencies to identify and adopt promising officer safety and wellness programs. Village officials thanked Chief Weitzel and the department for the work that led to the award.