Officer of the Year Markusic found her calling in high school

Officer Sarah Markusic hasn’t been with the Morris Police Department that long, but she’s had a big influence in her four years there.

She leads the department in driving under the influence arrests, and she’s known for her traffic enforcement and making sure the roads remain safe for all drivers.

Markusic also is known for dumping police Chief Alicia Steffes on the ground during one of her first days of training.

“She was a detective at the time I got hired,” Markusic said. “And she asked me the normal basic questions, everything like that, but she was concerned about my size. I’m small in stature, and I assured her there was nothing to worry about.”

Steffes found out firsthand, explaining during a City Council meeting in February that Markusic is much stronger than she looks. Steffes found herself flat on her back quickly during a training exercise. Markusic shared her side of the story.

“When I got hired, we had a defensive tactics training day,” Markusic said. “That’s where we learn how to handcuff and do all these techniques needed to properly place someone under the arrest. I was practicing on Chief Steffes, and we were taught this move where we flip someone over to get them in a better position to handcuff them. When I did it, I may have undercalculated my strength, and I may have flipped her over onto the floor.”

Steffes said she may have screamed when it happened.

When I got hired, we had a defensive tactics training day. That’s where we learn how to handcuff and do all these techniques needed to properly place someone under the arrest. I was practicing on Chief Steffes, and we were taught this move where we flip someone over to get them in a better position to handcuff them. When I did it, I may have undercalculated my strength, and I may have flipped her over onto the floor.”

—  Sarah Markusic, Morris police officer

“Everyone was shocked,” Markusic said.

She said she went through taekwondo classes with her brother in middle school, and although she didn’t stick with it, many of the lessons still stick with her to this day.

Markusic knew she wanted to become a police officer from a young age, following in her grandfather’s footsteps. He worked for the Chicago Police Department, and she always looked up to him. When she reached high school in her hometown of Plainfield, she joined the Police Explorer Program, a vocational program similar to those taught at the Grundy Area Vocational Center.

It was the more typical part of her police training, as her time at the police academy coincided perfectly with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were seven weeks into the police academy, and everything was mostly normal, and they told us on a Friday that they’re releasing us from class,” Markusic said. “They said they’ll see us Monday, but we might have to push it back a few days because there’s this – I think they said there was an illness going around.”

The training officers were supposed to return that Monday, and then they weren’t back for more than two months.

“We were the longest-training police recruit class ever,” Markusic said.

She was supposed to graduate in April 2020, but instead graduated at the end of June. She said the departments didn’t know what to do with her and the other training officers, so they sat at home waiting to hear what was going to happen with their jobs. When they finally returned, it was to an online version of the police academy for two weeks before actual in-person training could continue.

Markusic said she enjoys traffic enforcement and specifically DUI enforcement for impaired drivers.

“Most people don’t think about [impaired drivers],” Markusic said. “They worry about themselves driving, but they don’t worry about the other people on the roadway.”

Like officer Ryan Ties, another officer featured in the Thank You, First Responders edition, Markusic also trains dogs, but does it for fun in her free time. She has two German shepherds at home, one of which is a puppy. She currently spends most of her free time trying to get it to sit, stay, speak and not make messes around the house.