News : Urbana Residents Rally Behind Police Chief

There is nothing like picking on a good man to bring out all the mama bears and the folks that he has helped. Several Urbana residents have been quick to have the Police Chief's back. The community of Urbana has banded together to show support for their Chief, and had a ton of good things to say about the man/

As I read all of the words said about this police chief I noted one thing, there wasn't anything bad said about him. Not even remotely. Usually there is someone that has something to say, but not in this case.

Here are just some of the comments that people have said about their Police Chief.

-When my neighbor got hurt. He was first on scene. He had to check things out first because a child called 911.

-I love seeing them sitting at the school making sure the kids are ok...plus on Halloween, when they drive around handing out candy to the kids...

-Baker was always an extremely reliable and fair officer. I truly feel that he wasn't out to get anyone but was there to help our community. One of my favorite things about having him here was the way he looked after all of the kiddos in town. He went out of his way to interact with my children in a positive manner and always kept an eye on the school here in town.

-Couple of weeks ago my neighbors autistic son ran away and didn't want to be found. It was in the mid 40s and rainy and he didn't have a jacket. Thank God for chief Baker. We were able to locate him in about a half an hour. Any longer and the poor child might have gotten hypothermia. 

-We moved here about 1.5 years ago.We were looking at several smaller communities and a main reason we settled in Urbana was because they have their own police force

-He was first on the scene just 2 days ago on a 911 call for my neighbor. He also helped my other neighbor when his place burnt down last year. Every time I've had an interaction with him it's always been pleasant. Thank you Mr. Baker

-I think it was him…either way if not him one of the Urbana officers came down to 380 and signaled traffic to get over as our motorhome had a flat. After about an hour he just followed us to center point to turn around and nurse it home. We were super thankful for that!

-Baker helped us with an issue with our neighbor. Very good man.

-Always are there to help with the kids going to and from school. With four boys I am thankful to know there is someone there to watch out for them when I can't.

-For Halloween and other different events they are always helping and even passed out Halloween treats to all the kids out and about. They make the kids feel good and not scary to them. I feel they are a huge part of our area and keeping us safe.

-When I hit a deer they were there to help and took time to get the deer off the road, checked me and my van out and followed me home to make sure I got there safely. It was a traumatic experience for me but they were so kind and helpful and made me feel better. I truly appreciate them!

-Where do I begin? As someone who was abused by a cop I have every reason to not trust law enforcement. But Baker has truly redeemed my faith in law enforcement.

-He has gone out of his way to make me and my family feel safe.I appreciate that he watches over our kids before and after school. There have been times I've had concerns about something in the community and he is always open to answering questions. I truly believe he goes above and beyond for the community not bc it's a job but bc it's his passion

-No don't tell me they are thinking about doing away with our police department. That would be a mistake.

-I asked him for stickers for my kiddos and he didn't have any on him so he ended up bringing me some back to my work

-Had a problem with a person, Baker put a stop to his harassment I'm glad he assisted us with this problem. He has spoken to kids and parents about issues dealing with the city park damage, also destruction of property, the building, camaras, playground park slide, and multiple other issues with disruptive kids in town. I'm glad for his response and action with the damaged property. Good job Josh!

- He was awesome since the 1st interactions. My boys would come home talking about how they had seen him. He was great.

One resident shared a picture of the Police Chief with her children saying, "We had a few friends in from out of town and my kids were very excited to introduce them to Officer Baker. They loved being able to talk to him and ask questions. He showed them the truck, talked to them about his job, and why he enjoys his job.