VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia -- Kelvin Bailey's service to the community wasn't limited to his work as a police officer.
In addition to the 30 years he spent in law enforcement, first as a sheriff's deputy for the city and later as an officer, Bailey coached multiple youth sports teams over the past two-plus decades.
Even after his own two children had grown, he continued to serve as a mentor and role model to many young people and law enforcement officers he worked with, according to friends and colleagues.
Bailey, 51, died Saturday after suffering an apparent heart attack, police said. He was working an extra job, providing security at a bingo hall on Centerville Turnpike. Funeral arrangements are pending.
"He was one in a million," said Petersburg Police Chief Kenny Miller, a close friend who met Bailey when he first became a Virginia Beach police officer. Both came to the department after serving as sheriff's deputies and quickly bonded over their shared experiences.
"He was the epitome of a community police officer," Miller said. "He loved policing because he loved people."
Bailey worked in many different capacities during his 26 years with the Police Department. Some of those duties included teaching firearms, self defense and driving classes at the academy. He also worked as a detective in multiple divisions, Miller said. At the time of his death, he was a master police officer, doing patrol in the third precinct.
Bailey always put other people before himself, said Tonya Pierce, a department spokeswoman who taught with him at the academy. He was sweet, and genuine, she said – always smiling and ready with a hug. Pierce couldn’t recall seeing Bailey cross.
“Absolutely an awesome guy,” she said.
He became involved in youth sports around the same time he got into police work, coaching football, basketball and track. Most recently he was helping a nephew of his, driving him to and from practices and games several times a week.
"Kelvin was one of the few coaches who could get the kids' attention without yelling at them," said Bruce Pearl, commissioner of the Virginia Beach Mustangs Sports Club. "That's something I always admired about him."
Bailey especially enjoyed working with troubled youth, said Roger Wilson, who coached with him in the Larkspur Salem Recreation Association for many years. Bailey was especially helpful to one of Wilson's sons, guiding him to the path he needed to be on.
"It wasn't always about the ballgame," Wilson said. "He encouraged the kids to do the right thing."
That's what Brandon Mullen remembers most about him. Mullen, now a corporal in the Virginia Beach sheriff's office, was about 15 when he began playing on one of Bailey's basketball teams. Bailey's son, who's also a sheriff's deputy, was on the team, too.
"He was always encouraging, he was always teaching," Mullen said. "A lot of the lessons I learned from him I use in my law enforcement career."
Keeping his players humble was one of the things Bailey strove for, Mullen said. He'd admonish them if he caught them gloating or trash talking. "He made sure we conducted ourselves in the best manner. He taught us to treat people the way we would want to be treated."
In the days since Bailey's death, hundreds of people have left comments on various Facebook posts that have been shared about him.
Those who didn't know him thanked him for his service, and offered prayers and condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. The ones who knew him – including clerks in the convenience stores where he was a regular, players at the bingo halls where he provided security for so many years, and parents of the youth he coached – wrote mostly about how kind he was. Many mentioned how much they were going to miss his smile.
The last time Pierce, the police spokeswoman, saw Bailey was a few days before his death. It was at police headquarters – a chance encounter of everyday pleasantries, she said. She wishes she had stopped a moment longer – and maybe shared a hug.
“I'm kind of at a loss for words,” Pierce said.
Staff writer Victoria Bourne contributed to this report.
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