During Kevin Rileyās first interaction with Tom Wenzl, Riley was pinned in the parking lot of a grocery store in the Skagit Valley in Washington state. Wenzl, then a Mount Vernon police office, arrested Riley.
āFast forward a couple of weeks later and he arrests Danielle,ā Riley said of his wife. āSo, we did not have good interactions with Tom at all.ā
Image
The mugshot of Kevin Riley, at left, and the officer who arrested him, Tom Wenzl.
Instead of spending time in jail, Kevin was working for the city of Mount Vernon on a work crew. Thatās when Wenzl reentered his life.
āHe decided to retire [from police work] and take over that work crew,ā Riley said. āOn his first day, I remember praying incessantly, āGod, help me get through this.āā
But Wenzl didnāt even recognize Riley, until Kevin told him the story of his faith journey and sobriety. Hearing this, Wenzl placed Riley in charge of the work crew.
About two weeks later, Wenzl reminded Kevin that being on a work crew was like a jail sentence, and that he had the ability to give Riley credit-based early release, known as good time. Then he asked Riley, āHow would you like tomorrow to be your last day?ā After Kevin said heād ālove that,ā Wenzl told him the next day would be his last ā and heād never have to come back.
Image
Danielle and Kevin Riley baptize the officer who once arrested them, Tom Wenzl.
After that, Wenzl said he and Riley just kind of kept staying in touch ā and each time he remembers Kevin being really strong in his faith.
āBut it was always a neat relationship because he never shoved it down my throat,ā Wenzl said. āHe kept saying, āGod is good and good things are happening.ā Iād say, āyeah, yeah, yeah, Kevin,ā because Iād always done the right thing. I believe in karma, you know.ā
As Kevin and Danielle were getting ready to do a public information meeting at Mount Baker Presbyterian Church for a four-week homeless shelter they were preparing to host in the church, Kevin reached out to Wenzl.
āI told him I could use his support because I was getting ready to do this meeting by myself in front of all these angry people,ā Riley said. āAnd he came and then he started coming to church. And then he did a sermon with me on forgiveness and reconciliation.ā
After Covid hit, the two would occasionally run into each other. One day, Kevin got a call from Tom, who wanted to take him out for breakfast. It turned out Wenzl had met a woman. After telling Riley that he was going to marry this woman, Wenzl said, āIāve decided to give my life over to Jesus, and I want to get baptized.ā
āAll of a sudden everything just fell into place for me, from Kevin having originally planted the seed to my wife cultivating it and making it real,ā Wenzl said, pausing for a moment while emotion swept over him. āGuess what? Godās real. Who would have thunk it? Almost 60 years to the day, and all of a sudden, itās real.ā
Riley said it was a beautiful day on the river the day he baptized Wenzl. When he came out of the water, Wenzl was sobbing.
āI remember being lowered into the water, and there was just absolute peace and calm,ā Wenzl said. āThen I felt them trying to pull me back up. I was like, āIām not ready yet. Iām liking this.āā
Thinking back about his relationship with Kevin and Danielle Riley ā two people whoād been strung out on drugs and living in a truck ā Wenzel said, āfrom me arresting them to now theyāre probably my best friends, itās absolutely amazing to come full circle like that.ā
For Danielle Riley, this has been the whole journey for her and for Kevin: God repairing and restoring all the broken relationships and broken pieces of their lives.
āThis is just one more piece of evidence of Godās power in our story,ā she said.
Paul Seebeck, Communications Strategist, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Today's Focus: Police officer baptized by clergy couple he used to arrest
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agenciesā Staff
Annette Greer, Office Manager, Office of Public Witness, Compassion, Peace & Justice, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Paul Grier, Vice President, Project Regeneration, Presbyterian Foundation
Let us pray
Gracious God, we thank you for the witness of the church. We ask that your mighty hand would uphold and guide us as we seek to serve you. In the name of Jesus. Amen.