cop-for-a-day

Ryan Creasy, 33, always wanted to be a law enforcement officer like his idol, "Walker, Texas Ranger."

Creasy, who has Down syndrome, stays home with his parents and works in his dad's shop.  On Monday, he left his O'Fallon home and learned what it felt like to be a cop, and a minor celebrity, in Fairview Heights.

Ryan Creasy was all smiles as he tried on a tactical vest with help from Fairview Heights Detective Ben Hester. - Derik Holtmann/BND

Creasy was as eager as any new officer on the job. He checked the lights and sirens of the squad car, and got in with his partner for the day, Fairview Heights Police Chief Nick Gailius. Creasy waved through the passenger window -- "Bye ma! Bye dad!" -- and turned to Gailius.

"Let's go!"

Their first stop was the Fairview Heights Police Department, so "Officer Creasy" could see the station and learn about police work. Fairview Heights Detective Ben Hester showed Creasy how to lift fingerprints, put on tactical gear and do criminal history searches.

Creasy hooked on handcuffs and donned a new cap, police blue with the words "Friend of FHPD" on the front and his name on the back. Gailius also paid out of pocket for a dog tag for Creasy's golden retriever sidekick, Rusty.

Creasy also got to meet Mayor Gail Mitchell.

On the road, Creasy was ready to lay down the law -- starting with his father.Creasy said he wanted to check up on Dennis Creasy, who often forgets to buckle up. Creasy didn't get to cuff his dad, but he arrested a woman who ran a stop sign at the mall in a staged event with the help of Officer Kurt Schutz.

It was Creasy's first and only day as a cop, but he clearly sides with police officers over firefighters.He saw a trip to the Fairview Fire Department as more of a detour. He took a quick glance at some fire trucks and declined to try on fire gear.

"Have to get back to work now," Creasy said.

Gailius joked to a Fairview firefighter, "He knows where the real work's done."

"Officer Creasy" was at ease everywhere he went as cop-for-a-day."Socially, he's wonderful and he gets along very well with people," said his mother, Cheryl Creasy.

Ryan Creasy has a nonhereditary genetic disease, Trisomy 21, but is high-functioning and generally healthy, Cheryl Creasy said. The mutation in the 21st chromosome -- he has three chromosomes instead of two -- causes mental retardation and physical characteristics typical to those with Down syndrome.

At first glance, Cheryl Creasy said her son might look like a teen, but he's the older brother to four sisters. Ryan Creasy spends most of his time working with his dad, who owns a sign production company. His mom is a vice president at Memorial Hospital. His biggest challenge is inarticulate speech.

"Sometimes he gets excited and you can't understand what he says," Cheryl Creasy said. But Ryan Creasy will tell you what he's thinking.

"Ryan is a very, very strong Christian," Cheryl Creasy said. "He probably talks to people more about his faith than we do, puts the rest of us to shame. He tells people not to cuss. If you're not doing something right, he'll tell ya."  Ryan Creasy is also devoted to his family.

He was invited to be cop-for-a-day at a Fairview Heights Rotary Club fundraiser he attended with his mom and dad. The fundraiser was for Miracle League, a program that provides sporting activities for persons with special needs. When the Creasy family moved to the metro-east three years ago, Miracle League organizer Brenda Wagner, manager of the Bank of Edwardsville in O'Fallon, helped the family connect with others.
At the March fundraiser, Ryan Creasy bid to meet a police dog, but he lost. Fairview Heights Ward 5 Alderwoman Sandy Baldwin saw how disappointed Ryan Creasy was and told Wagner and Gailius. From there, the cop-for-a-day event evolved.  Baldwin said she's happy with how things turned out. "This is a memory he's going to have forever."