Sergeant William McEntee

Sgt. Bill McEntee of the Kirkwood Police dept. (His niece)

What is a hero? Some would consider a hero to be someone who runs around in tights saving random strangers and then disappearing into the darkness. A hero shouldn’t be some masked outsider coming around only when absolutely needed, but a person who we can look up to as a role model and know that they were always there to support us. This is someone we respect. This is also someone we can relate ourselves to. Furthermore, they should be someone we can look at and know that they were someone special. That is why my hero is Sgt. Bill McEntee.

Being a police officer means to have the most noble and respectable position of all careers. That is one of the main reasons Bill McEntee is my hero. He was a Kirkwood policeman for 20 years and joined at the age of 23. He was a seasoned sergeant and always was there to help others. During his time as a cop, one of his many acts of selflessness included saving the life of Reid Williams. Reid is a handicapped man who was trying to cross a street one day when an 18-wheeler clipped his wheelchair. It was Sgt. McEntee who was there to pull him out of harms way. Policeman like McEntee face more prejudice and danger nowadays more than ever. In fact, within the last ten years, 1,649 policemen have died in the line of duty. 582 of them were shot like Sgt. McEntee. Bill McEntee and these men should be looked at with honor and respect for the ultimate sacrifice they gave to keep our streets safe.

Not only was Sgt. McEntee an exceptional citizen and officer, but he was also a good family man. He had a loving wife and three children. Bill always found time to give them his attention amid his busy schedule as a cop. He spent his free time coaching little league baseball and soccer for his kids at their parish, St. Simon. Not only did McEntee have time for his immediate family, but for his large extended family as well. They are all very close and one family member was quoted after his death as saying, “When there are many backs to carry the burden of his death, it becomes lighter for everyone.”

Sgt. McEntee was a very active and involved member of the law enforcement community, and for that he paid a terrible price. It happened July 5, 2005 when he was responding to a fireworks complaint. McEntee was talking to a 13-year old boy about the occurrence when a man unrelated to the incident approached the passenger side of his patrol car and brutally shot Bill seven times. The suspect was a man by the name of Kevin Johnson whose brother had died previously due to a congenital heart defect. Johnson apparently did not think the cops did enough to prevent it from happening and he swore revenge for it under false pretenses. After this happened, the first police officer he saw was Sgt. McEntee and Bill ended up paying the price for a completely unrelated problem to the one he was responding to. After the shooting took place, Sgt. Bill McEntee was pronounced dead at St. John’s Mercy Hospital. He was 43.

So why is Sgt. McEntee my hero? When one looks at the life of Bill McEntee, they see a perfect representation of what being a police officer should be. His life makes one realize how dangerous a policeman’s job can be and how they continue to protect and serve us even under wrongful prejudice. Furthermore, one can see a man who was killed because he was doing his job and trying to make this world a better place. McEntee was killed while making an effort to protect the wellbeing of a 13-year old boy. You don’t get much more heroic than that. People also see Bill McEntee and know that he was a loving friend and family member. That is what truly makes a hero.