Batavia Police officer awarded 2023 Carl Dobbs Memorial Scholarship Award

Batavia Police Sgt. Chris Potthoff is the recipient of the 2023 Carl Dobbs Memorial Scholarship Award, which is given annually by the Illinois Chiefs of Police Association.

The Carl Dobbs Memorial Scholarship is dedicated to the enhancement of the law enforcement profession within the state of Illinois by providing management training to interested and qualified police departments and their personnel, according to a news release from the city of Batavia.

The scholarship will cover the cost of tuition for a full-time, active police officer of the rank of sergeant or above to attend one of the 10-week offerings of the School of Police Staff and Command of Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety, according to the release.

The scholarship was created to honor the memory of Dobbs, who died in 2008. Dobbs was the chief of police of Wheaton, the interim police Chief of Northlake, Bensenville, Roselle, Forest Park and Berwyn and the past president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, according to the release.

The scholarship is made possible through the Dobbs family and his friends, as well as Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety.

Potthoff is the fifth recipient from the Batavia Police Department to earn the scholarship.