Peru police officer recognized after 26 years of service

The Peru Police Department and Peru City Council recognized the retirement of a 26-year police veteran during Tuesday’s meeting.

Peru Police Chief Sarah Raymond said Mark Credi worked as an officer for Peru throughout his career doing a “plethora of things” for the department and the city.

You name it, he’s done it. So we wanted to acknowledge him and his services.”

—  Peru Police Chief Sarah Raymond

Credi began his career in law enforcement in 1989 as a 911 telecommunicator with the La Salle Police Department before becoming an officer with the Peru Police Department in September 1997.

“He’s done everything from firearms training for being a school resource officer early on to [emergency medical services], CPR instructor,” Raymond said. “You name it, he’s done it. So we wanted to acknowledge him and his services.”

Credi said he enjoyed connecting with various community members and business owners throughout his career but feels his greatest achievements are when he was allowed to work with juveniles.

“The juvenile lives that I’ve been able to have an impact on through programs like D.A.R.E., the peer jury program, the police explorer program – everything I’ve done involving the youth of Peru has been very gratifying for me in my tenure as a police officer,” Credi said.

Peru patrol Lt. Art Smith, who was in the police explorer program in high school when Credi was an instructor, said he knew he wanted to go into law enforcement before joining, but the program was the “deciding factor.”

“What I recall about Officer Credi in those programs is right away I noticed how he conducted himself,” Smith said. “He showed great enthusiasm toward the field of law enforcement. You could tell he had a passion for his career.”

Smith said Credi was a great asset to the department and will be greatly missed.

“I looked up to him, you know,” he said. “Especially as a young officer in my career.”

Credi worked with child safety seats and educating parents, grandparents and other family members about the importance of keeping their children safe in their vehicles as safety standards progressed throughout the years.

“It’s something that’s been near and dear to me – I worked with them for 25 of my 26 years,” he said.

Credi said he is looking forward to having less stressful days but will miss his connection to the community.

“I’m an officer that likes to drive around in the neighborhoods and just talk to people,” he said. “If I see somebody in their yard, I’ll stop and say hi. … That’s probably what I’ll miss the most – the day-to-day conversations you get to have with everybody in the city.”

Raymond said that although Credi is leaving the police side of things, he still will be around. She said this makes her happy because the police department gets to “keep him.”

“I just wanted to say that I feel like we are losing a good one,” Raymond said. “I’ve worked with him my entire career.”