The Attorney General’s Award recognizes individual state, local, and
tribal sworn rank-and-file police officers and deputies for exceptional
efforts in policing. The awarded officers and deputies have demonstrated
active engagement with the community in one of three areas: criminal
investigations, field operations or innovations in community policing.
This year, the department received 214 nominations recognizing a total
of 355 individual officers, deputies, and troopers. There were 39 states
represented in the nomination pool, covering state, local, campus,
sheriff, and other agency types.
“There is no career nobler than that of a police officer, and the 23
officers we honor this year demonstrate that clearly,” said Attorney
General William P. Barr. “These individuals are distinguished in their
service for field operations and criminal
investigations – from investigating homicides to drug trafficking to
sexual exploitation and assault – to making positive change in their
communities through innovative outreach to local residents. Their
actions are a testament to what law enforcement officers contribute to
our nation each day, keeping us safe from violent crime and building
more trusting communities, and they are deserving of our collective
thanks. I am pleased to honor these 23 officers for their distinguished
service in policing.”
The Department of Justice works closely with local law enforcement
and strives to be a ready resource for them. The Attorney General’s
Award for Distinguished Service in Policing is just one more way the
department can show its continued commitment to the profession and honor
the men and women who so bravely serve it.
Attorney General Awards for Distinguished Service in Policing 2020
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
Detective Kenneth Williams, Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, DC)
Detective Kenneth Williams, with the Metropolitan Police Department
in Washington, DC, was determined to pursue a cold case file to bring a
serial rapist and murderer to justice. For over twenty years, Detective
Williams followed leads and pursued the case. His efforts ultimately led
him to a town in South Carolina, where a suspected was taken into
custody and extradited to Washington, DC.
Special Agent Ryan Kedley, Iowa Department of Justice (Iowa)
Special Agent Ryan Kedley orchestrated and oversaw one of the largest
sexual exploitation investigations in Iowa state history. Kedley’s team
discovered that, for almost 20 years, a local youth basketball coach
had been secretly amassing thousands of videos and photos of his players
and their friends. Investigators determined the coach had sexually
assaulted at least 15 young men and victimized another 400, though the
actual numbers are suspected to be much higher. The former coach is now
serving a 180-year sentence in prison – the longest sentence possible
for the charges he faced.
Detective Bryan Bennett, Detective Ty Deichert, Detective
Fred Longobricco, and Detective Ian Ranshaw, Thornton Police Department
(Colorado)
These four Thornton (CO) detectives diligently pursued a high-level
Walmart credit card scheme that eventually led the detectives to partner
with the F.B.I., the U.S. Postal Service, the Department of Homeland
Security, and the State Department. Senior citizens in particular were
targeted by this confidence scheme, who unknowingly became the source of
millions of dollars of fraudulently obtained funds – funds that were
eventually laundered and sold as gift cards overseas. The detectives
conducted numerous surveillance operations, covertly went through the
suspects’ trash on multiple occasions, spent days reassembling shredded
gift cards, and ultimately followed their leads to East Asia. So far,
two defendants have now pleaded guilty, and 25 other defendants are
being monitored.
Detective Ryan Flood, Officer Vance Henning, Jr., and
Investigator Denny Vokes, Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office
(Wisconsin), Fond du Lac Police Department (Wisconsin)
These dedicated individuals sought to stem an increase in shootings,
drug trafficking, illegal guns, and gang activity; and their work
achieved just that, with illegal drugs, guns, and violent criminals
removed from city streets and community trust revived. Forming a
coalition that included agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of Wisconsin, over 50 active, armed participants in the illegal
drug trade were identified, many with criminal gang ties. The
investigation also led to a major firearms straw purchasing scheme.
Hundreds of hours of surveillance, interviews with numerous suspects and
dozens of warrant executions have led to the arrest of 35 suspects,
with many more arrests and indictments still pending. These cases also
involved the disruption of networks distributing cocaine, heroin, and
methamphetamine, including the largest single heroin seizure in the
history of Fond du Lac.
FIELD OPERATIONS
Officer Sherrelle Mitchell and Officer Felix Rivera, Philadelphia Police Department (Pennsylvania)
Sometimes lost in the narrative of American policing are the lives
that officers save. This particular drama unfolded on an August night in
Philadelphia, when Officer Felix Rivera was monitoring a large party.
When he heard multiple gunshots Officer Rivera first radioed for help,
and then rushed toward the shots. Officer Sherrelle Mitchell quickly
sped to the scene. The officers found a gunshot victim bleeding
profusely. After applying a tourniquet, the officers placed the victim
in their vehicle and rushed to the hospital. On the way, the victim lost
consciousness several times, and Officer Mitchell continued to perform
CPR and chest compressions. The heroic actions of these officers saved a
life that night.
Officer Natalie Eucce and Corporal Seay-Peter Floyd, Fayetteville Police Department (Arkansas)
In December 2019, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, an individual determined
to assassinate law enforcement officers, and armed with 100 rounds of
ammunition, approached a police car and fired 10 times, killing Officer
Stephen Carr. Hearing the shots and seeing the suspect, Corporal
Seay-Peter Floyd – with no regard for his personal safety – pursued the
suspect and fired. Officer Natalie Eucce (Officer Carr’s partner) and
Sergeant James Jennings joined Corporal Floyd in pursuing the suspect
and fired as well. The suspect was pronounced dead on the scene. It is
very likely more officers would have lost their lives that night, if it
were not for the bravery of Corporal Floyd and Officer Eucce.
Sergeant Jason Thien, Curry County Sheriff’s Office (Oregon)
In Curry County, Oregon, Sergeant Jason Thien often works alone on
his shift, where he services a 1,600-square mile county and more than
eighty miles of the Pacific Coast Highway. Even so, he did not hesitate
to give it his all when word came down of a widespread manhunt for a
murder suspect, who was thought to be in Curry County. Working his
contacts, combing property records, and using other investigative tools,
he found his man. Thanks to Sergeant Thien’s dedicated efforts, he
apprehended the subject, who will soon be facing charges.
INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNITY POLICING
Officer James Bryant, Detective Traves Humpherys, Officer
Darling Mapes, Officer Strahinja Pavlovic, Detective David Shive, and
Officer Luis Vidal, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Nevada)
The Bolden community had always been a challenge for police officers
and it was very difficult to build trust with residents. Youth in the
community also struggled, and the numbers showed poor academic records
and low graduation rates. So when an area merchant wanted to create a
free, fully accredited baseball league for youth, police officers jumped
in to assist as coaches for the Bolden Little League (BLL). Just two
years after it started, and as relationships between police officers and
the children and their families strengthened, the league expanded to 14
teams and 186 children. The league focused on reducing violent crime by
building trust and positively affecting the children and families
involved; and the success was in the numbers, with the neighborhoods
surrounding the park posting a 76 percent reduction in violent crime
from 2018 to 2019.
Officer Philip Smith, Evansville Police Department (Indiana)
Officer Philip Smith is the symbol of community policing in
Evansville, Indiana, where he serves as the special projects coordinator
for the Evansville Police Department. His community outreach efforts
have put a human face on the badge, and his efforts have encouraged the
public to work with the police and the police to have an ally in the
public. Smith runs the department’s Facebook page, which now has 45,000
subscribers – in a city of 117,000. His social media activity includes
weekly videos celebrating different officers and community members, and
photos of police and kids on department-sponsored trips to theme parks.
He also helped create the department’s breast cancer awareness
fundraiser, and established a program where salons and barbershops host
officers for informal chats with their patrons. All this community
outreach has meant that when the department now has to explain an
officer involved shooting, or asks the public for help in recognizing a
criminal, there is a community now pre-disposed to understand and work
with the department more than ever before.
Officer Sally Landrum, Willingboro Police Department (New Jersey)
When the Willingboro Police Department named Officer Sally Landrum
its inaugural Community Engagement Officer, she became the face of the
department in her community. Her goal was to build trust and legitimacy
by engaging residents of all backgrounds in positive interactions and
she found a myriad of ways to do that. Officer Landrum dove into her new
role with gusto, quickly earning the respect of local religious leaders
and community organizations. Her initiatives include recruitment
events; story times where police read to children at the local library;
anti-drug programs in the schools; toiletry drives for the homeless;
training on how to spot telephone scams and mail fraud for older adults;
breast and prostate cancer awareness campaigns; food, coat, and toy
drives; a resiliency program for officers in distress; and a community
service diversion program for young offenders. Through these efforts,
community residents now know they have a friend in the Willingboro
Police Department, and both the department and the community are better
for it.
Detective Archie Lidey, Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (Oregon)
When Josephine County, Oregon, suffered a funding
crisis, Detective Archie Lidey zoomed into action. The situation was
dire, with staffing reduced at the sheriff’s office and the jail,
limiting the number of offenders that could be housed. Citations were
issued to most criminal offenders instead of placing them under arrest.
But Detective Lidey began a grassroots effort to find and maintain
funding. As a founding member of Securing Our Safety (SOS), formed
specifically to overcome the law enforcement–funding crisis, Detective
Lidey organized a 5k race that grew to 700 participants in 2020. Lidey
and SOS also raised over $60,000 to complete a study of local justice
and law enforcement programs. They also formed a nonprofit called Grace
Roots, to establish a residential treatment center for people with
addictions; and he was key in establishing the Grants Pass Treatment
Center, a methadone and suboxone treatment program for substance abuse
addiction. Josephine County went from having no treatment facility to
one that now sees more than 300 patients a day. And funding-wise, it has
all paid off: since 2013, Detective has coordinated events and
contributions that now total $324,000.
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