Rachel Scattergood was a participant in the very first SWEL retreat after her close friend, Overland Park Officer Michael Mosher, was shot and killed in the line of duty on May 3rd, 2020. 

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Rachel has been a police officer with the Overland Park Police Department for nine years. She began her career in 2012 as a patrol officer on the overnight shift where she worked for five years. She spent two years working in the Family Crimes Unit and is currently assigned as a School Resource Officer in the Blue Valley School District. 

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In addition to serving as a Community Policing Officer, Rachel is currently a member of her department’s Honor Guard and Peer Support Team. She is also a Department Recruiter, Police Explorer Advisor and a member of the Peer Mentor Program. She previously served on her department’s Recognition Committee, Badge Committee and Breast Cancer Awareness Committee.

Rachel instituted a Family Orientation Night at her department, which was a semi-annual event designed to introduce new police officers and their families to the department. She also organized a Special Needs Safety Symposium as a joint project between the PD and the Overland Park Fire Department. She was also instrumental in the implementation of the Victim Advocate Program at the police department.

 

Rachel holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration from Western Illinois University and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Safety Administration from WIU. She also studied International Relations in the Middle East and attended courses in Arabic Studies at Moulay Ismaïl Université in Meknes, Morocco. Rachel is a department trainer in Chemical Suicide and cooridnated training county-wide on the topic.

 

Rachel has received the Overland Park Police Department’s Lifesaving Award, the City of Overland Park’s Public Safety Award and the Kansas City Metropolitan Chiefs and Sheriffs Association’s Lifesaving Award in addition to multiple Letters of Commendation for her job performance.

 

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of SWEL, Rachel is the Secretary of the Overland Park Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #21 and a Director of the Overland Park Police Officer’s Foundation. She is also a volunteer with Unleashed Pet Rescue and Melissa’s Menegerie’s Second Chances as a foster mom. Rachel is passionate about animal welfare and owns a farm in rural Cass County with horses, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats and a turtle named Flash.