COMM U N I T Y
BY: BILL MOAKLEY
Service Spotlight: Sergeant Kellee Robertson
Sgt. Kelle Robertson with her newest K9 partner, Kimber.
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rowing up in Moore, Norman Police Sergeant Kellee Robertson never considered law enforcement as a career. Had it not been for a poster in the hallway of a building on the Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City campus, she may never have. “I didn’t have any law enforcement in my background, no family members that were in law enforcement,” Robertson said. “I was about 19 years old and one day I just saw a poster in a hallway. From that day forward, I knew I was going to be a police officer.” Robertson graduated with a degree in police science and began her career in Norman as an animal welfare officer. Five years later, she applied for and was accepted to Norman’s 37th Police Academy. Following a four-year stint in patrol, Robertson was hired as part of the Special Investigations division, which includes crimes that might need undercover work such as narcotics. At the time, Norman had never had a canine officer serve outside of patrol. But that was about to change. “Our last patrol canine had retired, so I got with my lieutenant and said, ‘I think
10 | February 2021
a canine would be great to have here with us because we do work drug crimes,’” Robertson recalled. “I got my first canine, Pablo, in 2005 or 2006.” As part of the Special Investigations division, Robertson worked crimes of all types. Additionally, she worked with her partner at the time, Sergeant Darin Morgan, to develop the department’s first drug interdiction program. Morgan is now retired. “Interdiction in police work is basically out on the highways looking for people that are transporting large amounts of drugs and money,” Robertson explained. “Even human trafficking is a part of interdiction. We went to our bosses at the time and said, ‘we have I-35 here in Norman and we think this would be productive.’ Ultimately, we ended up making that program work and it’s still in operation today.” Pablo was part of Robertson’s interdiction and special investigations work until he passed away in 2000. She then welcomed a new K9 partner named Kilo. They worked together until 2012 when Robertson took a position in the department’s Criminal Investigations division with an
eye on working crimes against children. After learning the intricacies of such investigations, Robertson began working with Norman’s Mary Abbott Children House in 2013, a safe place for children to share their experiences regarding sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect, as well as children who are witnesses to crime and in drug endangered situations. Because of the nature of crimes against children and the toll it can take on investigators, most officers spend about five years working such crimes. In 2017, Robertson went back to working other major crimes in Norman. However, she recently returned to concentrating on Norman’s youngest victims. “I feel like crimes against children are kind of a passion of mine,” Robertson said. “It’s hard work, but it’s so important that you really feel like you’re making a difference. I can’t change what has happened, but I can intervene and stop it from happening. And I can make the person who committed such a crime accountable for their actions. “I started doing it in 2013 and I have cases I worked that long ago where the child in a case is almost an adult and I’m see-
