Lee Catavu thought about a career in education or law—until lengthy talks he had while working at Jewel with the assistant manager. ( He was a student at St. Edward High School in the mid-1990s when the talks occurred. )
She was a retired policewoman and Catavu "was just fascinated by the stories of her police career," he said.
Catavu went to Elgin Community College after graduating from high school and took criminal justice classes—and he finally found classes that he truly enjoyed going to.
Catavu was first hired as a community service officer, or police cadet, a civilian uniformed employee who handled low level calls for police service and reports. He got hired in 2004 by a small police department in McHenry County and worked there until joining the Aurora Police Department in 2007.
He is now a detective, and out. In fact, Catavu, who came out to his family while in high school and friends just after high school, came out while in the police academy.
"I would categorize my coming-out as stressful, but afterwards realized that it was not a big deal," said Catavu, now 34. "I've been accepted by family and friends every step of the way. I actually think my brother outed me originally. Back in the day, I was not so computer savvy, so the websites I was reviewing on the household computer gave me away."
Catavu said he was not planning to reveal his orientation when he joined the force. "I really thought I could keep my personal life and professional life separate, and when I first started working in law enforcement, that was exactly what I did," he said. "Before being hired as a police officer, I had the good fortune of meeting a gay police officer. I looked up to him immensely, and he took the time to give me advice. He told me to not lie; if someone had the courage to ask me about [my sexual orientation], I should have the courage to answer honestly.
"That opportunity presented itself while I was in the police academy. That police officer I referenced ultimately left law enforcement and pursued his dream of going into nursing. He became a flight nurse and was tragically killed in a helicopter accident in Aurora. I think of him often, and hope he knows the positive impact he made on my life.
"It is in that spirit that I always make myself available to those people and police officers who struggle with their sexual orientation."
Catavu's road to the force started at the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, and one day his academy roommate mentioned what high school he attended.
Catavu replied, "Oh, I dated someone who went there."
Naturally, the roommate asked who, but Catavu just said something sarcastic to avoid the topic.
Catavu later asked his roommate in private if he really wanted to know who Catavu dated, and the roommate said, "Yes."
Catavu told his name, to which the roommate replied, "Oh, I don't know him."
"My roommate, who is straight, even joined me at the local gay bar and was my wingman, after we both went to the local Hollister [store] and bought tight-[fitting] T-shirts," Catavu said. "From then on, I was out to everyone, and my class had people from all over the state.
"I remember at graduation, one of the officers from the southern end of the state introduced his wife to me, and she said she had to meet the man who was able to positively change her husband's attitude toward gay people. He had told his wife about me and she asked if he would ever be my roommate, and he said, 'Oh, yeah—Lee is cool.'"
Catavu, who also lives in Aurora, is single and has been on the Aurora Police Department ( APD ) for six years. He was born and raised in Elgin.
Catavu said there are other openly gay APD officers, and he has not had any issues in Aurora around his sexual orientation.
"I always brag about the police department that I am a member of and the great officers I serve with," Catavu said. "I hope [being out] gives [others] the courage to also be themselves, and to go after their dreams."
Catavu is the unofficial LGBT liaison for the APD.
"In agencies that have successful LGBT liaisons, it is not the role of the liaison to just handle calls for police service for the LGBT community," he said. "Every police officer can effectively and compassionately handle calls for service in every segment of the community. Some of my colleagues have encountered situations where a youth, or their family, are struggling with issues of sexuality and it has, in certain circumstances, risen to the level of it being an unsafe or abusive environment.
"I've been able to assist in providing referrals to agencies who can either assist or provide counseling. I think, with youth, it is important to let them know that they are not alone. With parents and families, there are several issues, but at the heart of it, no one wants their loved one to face adversity."
Catavu said Aurora definitely has LGBT residents, based on his experience with the local PFLAG chapter, which operates out of the local Congregational Church. The Congregational Church also has a sizeable LGBT membership, he said. "There are so many different cultures, both obvious and invisible, that make Aurora such a wonderful place," Catavu said. "I am also aware that most of the public high schools have GSAs [gay-straight alliances]."
In October, Catavu spoke at Waubonsie Community College, addressing LGBT issues. His speech was titled "Law Enforcement and the LGBT Community."
"I think the most important part of the presentation are the public service videos warning the public about 'the homosexual' who is described as suffering from a disease of the mind and dangerous," Catavu said. "There is another video from a juvenile officer in which he is addressing a group of kids, warning them that if they are engaged in homosexual activity they better stop before they are arrested, and their parents are told.
"In our not-so-distant-history, law enforcement demonized the LGBT community. There are people who may still be confused regarding how law enforcement views them. Some members of the LGBT community may feel apprehensive to report crimes to police because of that fear. That is another reason where an LGBT liaison can be a great community resource."
Catavu speaks publicly about LGBT matters about once a month, often to criminal justice classes.
"I have not had to directly investigate a [gay] hate crime, but I did assist in what, on the surface, appeared to be a gay-related hate crime," he said. "Two boys had gotten into a fight in which one was severely injured and gay slurs were used. It appeared the victim had been targeted because of his sexual orientation, but upon investigation we learned the offender was struggling with his sexuality, and the boy he had fought had been outing him.
"At the conclusion of the investigation I remember remarking that it was a hate crime, [but] the primary hatred in that situation was the offender's hatred of who he was."
