KEITH KIMBALL ENJOYING ROLE AS POLICE DEPARTMENT’S CHAPLAIN
By PHYLISS BOATWRIGHT C-T Staff Writer pboatwright@roxboro-courier.com
Posted: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 5:00 am
"They're equipped for facing danger. We're trying to equip them for facing life."
That's what Roxboro Police Department Chaplain D
r. Keith Kimball said of his volunteer job and those who support him in his effort to spiritually support the community and law enforcement officers.
Police Chief Todd Boycher said he was happy to have Kimball, a certified crisis counselor, available to, not only officers, but the citizens of Roxboro as well.
"We looked at the type of work we do, and the type of calls we go on," Boycher said this week, "and determined that there was a need in the department for somebody who could specialize in counseling" those hearing the news that a loved one had died in a car accident or by violent means.
Kimball's training allows him to better deliver the news and to help family members cope with it, Boycher said.
Kimball has ministered to Durham Police officers, North Carolina State Highway Patrol officers and served as a chaplain at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville. He is a member of an emergency chaplains' group in Durham.
While serving as a pastor in Johnston County, Kimball said he volunteered as a chaplain at Johnston Memorial Hospital, where he often encountered cases in which law enforcement was involved.
"I've always had a heart for police officers," Kimball said, adding that his uncle was a police officer.
"I know what they go through," he said, "and it's more garbage than you can imagine. They have to maintain their cool when faced with mortality," Kimball added.
He said law enforcement officers must remain calm and respectful, and treat people fairly when arresting them, even though the suspects may be resisting or trying to verbally or physically attack the officer.
"It makes me wonder how they put up with it," Kimball said of the way some in the community treat police officers.
He explained that the officers must deal with "a lot of stress," adding that the divorce rate among law enforcement officers was "higher than that of the rest of the public. Someone needs to do something" to help the officers and their families, Kimball said.
The chaplain said of his work with the RPD officers, "I go where they go. They're armed with bulletproof vests and weapons and all I have is a Bible."
One of the things Kimball hopes to achieve through his work with the police department is for "more people to understand exactly what it means for God to work in their lives."
A bit of that work was evidenced on April 15, when Kimball, riding with an officer, responded to a disturbance call. He wrote in his monthly report that he and the officer arrived on scene to find a "small white man from Durham, claiming to be a white supremacist . . . engaging in an argument with several large black males. The white male was advised to leave the property and Roxboro," Kimball said, and a gun was reportedly involved in the incident. While the RPD officer Kimball was accompanying searched around the house for a firearm, the argument escalated, Kimball stated.
"One officer advised the men that their chaplain was accompanying them, to which they asked that I get out and join them," Kimball wrote. After joining the group, he was "invited to pray for them," he said, adding that he "did not know if they were serious or mocking. I simply stepped up and agreed to pray."
He said everyone at the scene "joined hands and [Kimball] prayed for peace in the community and the homes and for all involved to be drawn closer to the Lord Jesus."
Kimball finished his report of the April incident by writing, "Last I heard, at the end of the month, that area was still quiet and peaceful."
Kimball told The Courier-Times that he had already seen many good things happening within the RPD and hoped to continue to help improve the lives of the officers and Roxboro citizens.
He is a member of North Roxboro Baptist Church and said the men of the church had agreed to order a case of Bibles, the NIV Peacemakers New Testament, so that all officers would have one.
"It's something that I think will be a great encouragement" to the officers, Kimball said.
He said he hoped to see more churches in the community step up and support officers and their families and let them know they are appreciated.
Kimball hopes to soon hold a special family day for law enforcement officers from the RPD and the Person County Sheriff's Department, as well as firefighters and EMS members.
Boycher said, when he first talked with Kimball about serving as chaplain, he thought Kimball would be most valuable in helping officers notify citizens of the death of a loved one.
"He's also there for the officers if needed," Boycher said. "He's also available to any city department that needs his services. He is certainly called from above to minister to and counsel folks."
Effective June 22, 2011, Rev. Mike White joined Emergency Chaplains and has been assigned to serve the Durham Police Department in District 2. 
Rev. Andre Gilliard is now associated with Emergency Chaplains. Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, Gilliard lived there until relocating to the Triangle area last year. He transferred here with Procter and Gamble, where he has worked for the last 15 years.
Art Klose joined Emergency Chaplains as a Chaplain Intern on June 1, 2011 and will be serving the Durham Police Department. He is originally from Pennsylvania but has called North Carolina home for the last 15 years.
Grant Bennett joined Emergency Chaplains on May 20, 2011 and has been assigned to serve District 1 of the Durham Police Department.