Glen Carbon Police Honors Officers Amid Promotions, Awards, Retirements

GLEN CARBON – Last Tuesday, May 26, 2026, was an eventful evening for the Glen Carbon Police Department.

At the May 26, 2026, Village Board meeting, Sgt. Greg Boyer was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and Detective Leon Robinson was sworn in as the department’s newest patrol sergeant.

At the same meeting, Lieutenant Ned Miller was recognized by State Senator Erica Harriss for his 27 years of service with the GCPD. Trina Vetter with Harriss’s office was in attendance on the senator’s behalf.

“On June 23 of this year, after 27 years of honorable and dedicated service to this village and the police department, Lieutenant Ned Miller will retire from the Glen Carbon Police Department,” Police Chief Todd Link said.

Miller began his career with the GCPD in 1999. Over the years, Miller has served as a detective, patrol officer and patrol sergeant; Link said he’s most recently been “an excellent lieutenant” for the past seven years.

Also on May 26, Officer Kevin Bauer was presented with the Meritorious Service Award for his work as a task force officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Link said Bauer would soon be retiring from the department to continue his career with the DEA.

Link said the Meritorious Service Award is the department’s fifth-highest honor and a rare achievement earned by those who demonstrate “superior performance of duty which is above and beyond that which is required.”

Bauer was the first officer appointed to a new DEA task force position created by Link within the GCPD, which required him to work full-time with the federal agency.

“My intent at the time was that Kevin would go there, learn a lot of things about drug investigations … and he would come back and teach our officers how to apply those things in and around Glen Carbon, throughout this region,” Link said. “I had no idea how successful he would be and how much the DEA would come to depend on him. As evidence of that, they’ve offered him a full-time job, and he’s going to be retiring and working for them in June.”

Link said that since 2017, Bauer has investigated 170 large-scale drug conspiracy cases involving organized nationwide drug rings in Illinois, Missouri, New York, Texas, California, West Virginia, and more. While these investigations taken him around the country, his work has also had a major impact on the village.

“He played a key role in breaking up organized drug rings, even cartel rings, and seized multiple kilos of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, and assisted the U.S. attorney with multiple federal prosecutions,” Link said. “As a result of his work, he seized in excess of $650,000 which came back to the Glen Carbon Police Department.”

The department later congratulated each of their recently recognized officers in an announcement, stating: “Congratulations to everyone on your well-deserved awards and promotions!”

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