Mike Shep Retiring From Northbrook Police

After 40 years in law enforcement, the Northbrook Police Department's Supervisor of Community Relationships, Mike Shep, is retiring.

"It's been a good run, but you know mentally when it's time to pull the plug," Shep said. "I'll miss the guys, I'll miss the department, but life goes on."

Shep, 63, worked in Northbrook for the last 10 years, but spent 30 years with Evanston police. It was there he had one of his most on-duty memorable experiences, saving a woman's life after finding her in a bloody bathroom. 

Sign up for the Northbrook Patch morning newsletter to get the latest police and fire updates in your email. "Like" us on Facebook to see the latest stories in your news feed.

In 1981, Evanston police received a report of a screaming woman in an apartment that Shep and his partner were sent to investigate. When the officers arrived, they heard moaning in the apartment though no one answered their door. 

When a neighbor said screams were coming from the apartment, Shep kicked the door in. The apartment was empty, but the officers saw a light coming from the bathroom. 

They entered the bathroom and found a man holding a knife, trying to dismember a woman. The man had already done some damage because Shep says he still recalls the smell of blood, but she was still alive when they reached her. 

"I put my gun to his ear and said, 'put the knife down or you're dead,'" Shep recalled. "He dropped the knife right away. That was a good moment."

Shep grew up in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. He became a police officer in 1972, when he was 22.

Shep says he feels lucky about the people he's encountered in his career and the community's support along the way. 

"Northbrook's got some good, sharp people here. It's a class operation," he said. "I got very lucky."

Shep's last day with Northbrook police will be August 5.