Dixon City Council draws large crowd to honor first responders

DIXON – The council chambers at Dixon City Hall were packed Monday evening as friends, family and community members gathered to celebrate the careers of three first responders.

“It really says a lot about our first responders,” said City Council member Mary Oros. “This whole room was filled to capacity. It was a great testament to that service.”

During the Aug. 5 meeting, the Dixon City Fire Department’s new deputy chief, Adam Arnould, and Lt. Nathan McCoy were sworn in, and recently retired Sgt. Matthew Coppotelli of the Dixon Police Department was honored for 27 years of service.

Deputy Chief Adam Arnould

After Dixon City Fire Department Deputy Chief David Lohse retired on May 10, “Adam Arnould was selected to take over the reins,” Fire Chief Ryan Buskohl told the council.

Arnould began his career at the department Aug. 23, 2011, and was promoted to lieutenant in 2018, Buskohl said.

About that same time in 2018, Arnould responded to call about a medical emergency at Walmart. Oros was grocery shopping with her two young kids when her son – about 11 at the time – had a tonic-clonic or grand mal seizure, she said in an interview with Shaw Local.

“It was the first time [her son] ever had a seizure,” Oros said, “and [Arnould] was so wonderful to me because I was incredibly terrified.”

Arnould assisted Oros’ son “in the middle of Walmart on the floor in the grocery store,” she said.

After they were loaded up into the ambulance, Oros’ daughter fainted. Arnould called another ambulance and both kids were transported to the emergency room. Later on, Oros said Arnould followed up with her and the kids to see how they were doing.

Ever since that day, “there’s just been a special place in my heart for him,” Oros said. “He just had, like this very calm, reassuring demeanor.”

At Monday’s meeting Oros said, “to see this years later, to have him up here, is pretty profound.”

According to Buskohl, Arnould has an associate degree in fire science and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in fire administration. He is a tactical medic and a public safety diver who holds many certifications, including hazmat technician, advanced technician, and more.

Among his many qualifications, “[Arnould] is so incredibly supportive and continues to bolster the resiliency program within the fire department, and I think that that is a testament to who he is as a leader,” Oros said.

After Oros was elected to serve on the City Council, she partnered with the members of the police and fire departments to implement a resiliency program intended to create better mental health resources for first responders.

“I’m really excited for him to step into this role,” she said. “We’re lucky to have him.”

Lt. Nathan McCoy

Along with former Deputy Chief Lohse‘s retirement, another position – lieutenant – opened up at the fire department.

Lt. Nathan McCoy began his career at the department on Sept. 7, 2014. He previously served as a cadet and a paid on-call firefighter/EMT with the Dixon Rural Fire Protection District, Buskohl told the council.

McCoy, a two-time attendee of the National Fire Academy, has an associate degree in fire science and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in fire administration. He holds multiple certifications, including advanced technician, firefighter instructor two, swift water technician and more, Buskohl said.

He is president of the Dixon City Firefighter Local 1943 and is an instructor at the Illinois Fire Service Institute, according to Buskohl.

To be promoted to lieutenant, McCoy completed a written exam, assessments and evaluations, earned education points and completed an oral interview. At the end, McCoy was the highest-scoring member, Buskohl said.

Sgt. Matthew Coppotelli

Sgt. Matthew Coppotelli started his career at the Dixon Police Department on Jan. 10, 1997, and retired Jan. 18, 2024. He is continuing his service at the Polo Police Department, Dixon Police Department Deputy Chief Matt Richards told the council.

Coppotelli was brought on as Polo’s chief of police on Jan. 2 after the Polo City Council voted unanimously to bring him aboard.

At Monday’s meeting, Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss, who previously served as Dixon’s chief of police, stood up to thank Coppotelli for his service.

Langloss and Coppotelli began their career at the department around the same time 27 years ago, Langloss said.

“With Matt, it seemed like whenever something big happened he was right in the middle of it. Breaking it up or figuring it out,” Langloss said.

He recalled a time, many years ago, the department was investigating several armed robberies that had occurred near Dixon’s downtown area. Coppotelli was on patrol driving through a neighborhood when he came across a car and “something about it seemed a little off,” Langloss said.

After obtaining a search warrant, a suspect was caught when they found “this shotgun up underneath the couch,” Langloss said.

During Coppotelli’s career with the Dixon PD, he held many positions, including patrol officer, bike officer, field training officer, SWAT team member, detective, department instructor, sergeant and detective sergeant, Richards said.

Langloss recalled Coppotelli’s use-of-force training as “probably some of the best training any of us ever attended” because it put them in real-life scenarios in a controlled environment.

In 2014, Coppotelli was selected to lead the department’s newly created Street Crimes Division, which focused on combating the sale and distribution of illegal drugs in Lee County, Richards said.

Langloss said Coppotelli’s work with street crimes helped the department “take that next step in keeping drug crime out of our community.”

“Matt, it was great to serve with you man. Congratulations,” Langloss said.