New Batavia Police Chief always knew law enforcement was his calling

Eric Blowers will begin serving the Batavia community as Chief of Police on Jan. 14, when current chief Shawn Mazza is set to retire.

Blowers has been with the Batavia Police Department for the entirety of his 17-year law enforcement career. He joined the Batavia Police Department in 2007, and served in as patrol officer, detective, sergeant, watch commander and deputy chief, as well as serving as a member and leader of multiple department task forces.

Though Blowers is the first police officer in his family, he said he knew from an early age that he wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement.

“I’ve always had a passion for service, giving to the community and protecting people,” Blowers said. “I wanted a job where I would have the opportunity to interact and engage with the community and an opportunity to make a difference.”

Blowers was raised in the Wheaton area and now lives in Geneva with his wife and their two children.

After high school, Blowers attended Western Illinois University earning a degree in law enforcement studies. In 2017 he continued his education at Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.

Blowers said while there was a degree of luck that led to him joining the Batavia Police Department, he couldn’t be more pleased to have began his career here.

“I was fortunate to be able to land in a community like Batavia,” Blowers said. “It’s been the only police department I’ve worked at and I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. It’s been a fantastic department to work for and it’s just a special community.”

Blowers said what makes the Batavia PD and its officers so special comes down to being passionate about law enforcement and being willing to make sacrifices.

“[Police] make a lot of sacrifices,” Blowers said. “They sacrifice time with their families, they sacrifice their personal safety at times, and they do so because of a higher calling, because they know that somebody has to do this job. Working alongside men and women like that, willing to put those things on the line in order to serve the community, has been an extremely rewarding career.”

Blowers said becoming police chief was never part of his plan.

“I enjoy the challenge of taking on new positions of leadership and having the opportunity to serve as chief of police is something that I never really envisioned for myself, but I’m excited to be able to fill this role,” Blowers said.

Community engagement has been a big focus for the past few years, and Blowers said expanding on those efforts is one of his short term goals. One effort on that front is to get the department’s new comfort dog, River, sworn in and out interacting with the community.

Blowers said another immediate goal is to continue investing in training and exploring new technology to improve operational efficiency and community safety. He said because the department’s staff is decreasing, being able to incorporate new tech like AI will be paramount to achieving the department’s goals.

“As these new technologies grow and change, we’re just trying to figure out how we can leverage those to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to meet the needs of the community,” Blowers said.

Blowers said he is lucky to be part of a department like Batavia’s that does such a great job of interacting with the community, providing public safety services and treating the citizens with respect and compassion. He said while he is incredibly proud of their accomplishments, they have to always be reassessing and looking for ways to improve.

“I truly believe that our department is one of the best around, and I think that’s because we have a philosophy of continual improvement, growth and self reflection,” Blowers said. “We can’t stop striving for improvement, but I’m really proud of where our department is and what we’ve accomplished.”

Blowers has no plans to leave the Batavia Police Department, and called it his “forever home.”

“I love this community, I love this town, and I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon,” Blowers said.

Blowers said Mazza has been a driving force on the community relations front during his time as chief and plans to continue to build upon the work he has done.

“I’m really going to miss working with Chief Mazza,” Blowers said. “He’s been a visionary leader for the City of Batavia and has really taken our department a long way in terms of building and improving community relations here in the city... We hate to see him go.”

Mayor Jeffery Schielke swore in Blowers at the Jan. 6 City Council meeting.

At the same meeting, Deputy Sergeant Gary La Barbera was promoted to deputy chief of operations, filling the vacancy left by Blowers. La Barbera is an Army veteran who has been with the Batavia Police Department for 20 years.

Both appointments and Mazza’s retirement will take effect Jan. 14.

Before Blowers and La Barbera took their oaths, Police Chief Mazza was honored at the meeting for his 26 years service to the community. He joined the department in 1999 and has served as chief since 2022.

City Administrator Laura Newman spoke to Mazza’s leadership and impact on the community before he was honored with a plaque from Schielke. The mayor also proclaimed Jan. 14 as Chief Shawn Mazza Day in Batavia.

“Shawn has shown himself to be adept, not only in the gravest of crisis situations, but also in his interactions everyday with residents, staff, elected officials and businesses,” Newman said. “He just instills a sense of trust and confidence, and it is because he is such a humble leader who leads with a servant’s heart.”

Mazza spoke after his recognition, saying how grateful he is for the opportunity he was given to live out his childhood dream of being a police officer.

“I just have an overwhelming sense of gratitude,” Mazza said. “I have the utmost confidence and faith that this is truly just going to be a baton handoff and they’re going to keep running with what we’re doing. I’m excited for the department and excited for the city– I think that the future is bright.”