Community News

FIVE MINUTES WITH A HERO is a new series of interviews with some of the heroes who live among us.

In the coming weeks, IHeartOswego will be talking with some ordinary people who do extraordinary things like saving lives and preventing crime. Maybe you know someone who fits this description, or maybe you came in contact with a hero when you needed help. Let me introduce you to one such person today…

On a bitterly cold January morning, I met with Oswego Police Department Lieutenant Charles Burger while he sat in the dispatch office at the police station on West Second Street. As the supervisor for the officers on duty on this day, he was tasked this morning with handling the phones, dealing with walk-in complaints and assisting his officers in handling a difficult situation regarding a person who was in custody from the previous overnight shift.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Well, my name is Chuck Burger. I’m 52 years old, I was born and raised in Oswego. I’m married and a dad, and I’ve been a police officer for 18 years.

How long have you been in your current position?

I was promoted to Lieutenant about five months ago. I started out 18 years ago as a patrolman and eventually worked my way into a position as an investigator, which I did for most of my career. I had some success over the years, and was promoted to sergeant for several years prior to earning the position I’m in now.

Can you describe what a typical day is like for you?

There really isn’t a typical day here. Other than coming to work and meeting with my officers to start a shift, everything else completely depends on what is going on in the city. There are some shifts when there’s not much going on, but others that are so busy it can be a struggle to keep on top of everything that’s happening.
You’ve seen it here this morning. We have a person we've been holding since the night shift. There's been a walk-in complaint that needs to be handled, the city court upstairs has a person who needs to be brought down and processed, and I’ve taken 3 phone calls from the public all within the past half hour. I have to juggle who is going to handle each incident, some of which may need more than one officer, and still be able to respond to additional calls if they come in. On top of that, each of these incidents will have to have a report written and charges filed if that’s necessary.

What is the most difficult thing about your job?

I would say that the most difficult thing I deal with is trying to make sure that everyone is satisfied. I need to make sure that each person we deal with gets an answer to their questions and if any laws have been broken we need to find who did it. I need to make sure that my officers are given what they need to do their jobs and that they do them right. Third, I need to make sure that the administration gets what it needs too. I need to see that reports are completed and filed, and that everything is done properly as it starts its way through the system. When all those things happen everyone is satisfied, but it takes a lot of effort to get to that point sometimes.

What is the best thing about your job?

I’m not going to lie. Right now, it’s that I only have 18 months left until I can retire. I’ve been at this for a while, and it can wear on you. But really, for me the best thing about the job is knowing that you’ve been able to help people. That’s really what this job is all about at the end of the day. People don’t usually call the police when they're having a good day, and when you’re able to turn that around for someone it’s a good feeling. It’s not about recognition or getting your name in the newspaper; for me the reward is knowing that I was able to help someone who needed it.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Just that I like the direction that the city seems to be headed in. I can remember back in the 1980’s and 90’s when things weren’t going so well. In the past several years though, things seem to have turned around. The city’s been cleaned up, we have a lot of new buildings going up, and people seem to be more optimistic. Like I said before, I have lived here all my life and it’s good to see that things are changing for the better.

IHeartOswego would like to thank Lieutenant Chuck Burger for speaking with us. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be hearing from other members of the community who fit the definition of a hero: a person who is idolized or admired for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. We know there are many of them here, and we’re hoping to help you all get to know them. Look for FIVE MINUTES WITH A HERO again next week.