CLEVELAND — Cleveland Police are mourning the loss of one of their own. Vicki Przybylski, an 18-year veteran of the force, has died.
News 5 sat down with Vicki this past January as she described how thrilled she was to be feeling good enough to return to patrols after battling stage 4 ovarian cancer since November of 2021.
We wanted to honor Vicki because of what she did to make our city a better place.
Her warmth and kindness filled the room when we sat down with Vicki. As did her love for policing and the people at Cleveland PD Fourth District.
Like so many people who’ve battled cancer, Vicki was excited to return to some normalcy. She loved her guys and her community, where she was born and raised.
Vicki told us that she and her partner’s goal on their overnight patrols was to help people. To set someone on a different path. Vicki even got a new bike for a 5-year-old child who had theirs stolen.
Not just a cop but a mom. Vicki brought it all to the job.
“I told my family the day I got diagnosed that I'm gonna fight with everything I got, and I'm not going to quit,” Vicki said at the time.
And Vicki never quit. She called cancer a blessing in that it allowed her to connect with and encourage people in ways she never imagined.
A hero on and off the clock, Vicki’s watch may have ended, but her legacy lives on in all who knew and loved her and in the lesson she lived and leaves: The power of people to be a force of good in each other’s lives.
“The headline of this whole story isn't me,” she said in January. “The headline of this whole story is my friends and family that took such good care of me. Everybody who prayed for me. Everyone who checked in on me. My community. Having all these people who are my tribe… just take such good care of me. It's our story not just mine."
Vicki’s faith was also very important to her. Visitation will be held this Friday morning at Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church, with funeral mass to follow at 11 a.m.
CLICK HERE to read her obituary.
RELATED: Cleveland Police officer back on patrol after battling ovarian cancer
You can watch News 5's previous coverage of Vicki in the player below:
