Quad Cities International Airport welcomes new asset to Public Safety Department
The Quad Cities International Airport introduced its youngest and only woman public service officer, Lindsey Lindberg. She started off her career in customer service at the airport and now is one step closer to living out her dream as a law-enforcement officer.
“It’s a big change of pace for me. I’ve always been in customer service and to go from that to law enforcement has been a super big change, but it’s really relieving,” said Officer Lindsey Lindberg, Quad Cities International Airport Public Safety Department. “I feel like I’ve found my calling.”
Lindberg knew for a long time her passion was in the criminal justice system. She would eventually get transferred to the Public Safety Department in December. The 28-year-old went to a police academy in Dixon, Illinois, to complete her training and she hasn’t looked back. Lindberg had the chance to reflect on her journey. She feels privileged for the opportunity and says being the youngest and the only female officer in the department makes her feel strong and empowered.
“It was a long journey getting here but the department and all the guys have been supportive of everything,” Lindberg said. “It’s a little bit of a nerve-racking experience first walking in as the ‘new guy’ but it’s also very exciting.”
Lindberg’s police training took about four months. She graduated in late April and she said a lot was learned during that time.
“A lot more than I expected,” Lindberg added. “I will say there were parts that were stressful because this is my career, but I was happy to build a lot of connections with people around the state.”
Lindberg has been shadowing, helping with air-field inspections, and assisting in law enforcement calls ever since. Going forward in her new career, Lindberg says she wants to be approachable with passengers and she wants them to know she is there for them.
“I love helping people. And the law enforcement side, of course is very important to me, but I’m a people person so I want to be able to connect with the passengers that come through here,” Lindberg said. “I want to find out where they’re going and strike up some small talk about that but I’m always happy to have a conversation with someone and make pals when I can. We want to be approachable for the passengers here. Whether it may be finding their gate or maybe someone lost something, we want to be there to help them,” Lindberg added.
Officers in the Safety Department are all cross-trained in three disciplines: Law enforcement, firefighting, and first response. Lindberg still needs to complete her fire and first response training. She hopes to have that done by September.
“I find that this job is very unique,” Lindberg said. “There’s a lot of things that we see at the airport that a typical city cop might not get to see. I am very excited to get my training done and have more responsibilities on my own.”
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