By Ann Austin, Albert Lea Tribune (Albert Lea, Minn.)
What would Albert Lea, or any city, be like without the faithful patrol of its police officers?
National Police Week was created to honor of men and women who have dedicated their lives to serving the people in their community. The week will close on May 15 with National Peace Officers Memorial Day which honors the federal, state and municipal officers who have been killed or disabled in the line of duty.
This year will mark the 20th year of celebration, but the concept began Oct. 1, 1962, when President John F. Kennedy signed the law which recognizes the service given by police officers, “who, night and day, stand guard in our midst to protect us through enforcement of our laws.”
The law was amended in 1994 by President Bill Clinton requiring United States flags at all government buildings be displayed at half-staff on May 15.
There will be a candlelight vigil Thursday evening in areas around the country, including Mason City, Iowa, which will be northern Iowa’s first event. The vigil will be held from 9 to 10 p.m. at Central Park in Mason City, and is presented by Hamilton College and the Mason City Criminal Justice Club.
The first candlelight vigil was held in 1989 at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C.
In October, 1991 the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial was dedicated by President George Bush. The memorial holds names of over 14,000 law enforcement officers, and has space for 29,233 names.
There have been no on-duty deaths of local police officers in Albert Lea, according to Police Chief Tom Menning. But nationwide, deaths for 2003 totaled 145, which is 15 percent fewer deaths than the average of 167 carried for a decade, statistics state.
Police officers fill a vital role in the community, Menning said.
“They contribute to the quality of life. In order to have a certain order to society you have to have law enforcement officers,” he said.
Being a police officer requires common sense and the ability to factor in different community customs when handling law enforcement.
“You have to be an individual that can apply the written law in a fashion that your community wants it applied,” Menning said.
The Albert Lea Police force is filled with officers who have had years of experience and are professionals in their field.
The Albert Lea Police Force includes: Police Chief Tom Menning and Assistant Police Chief Dwaine Winkels; Lieutenants Glen Larson, Philip Bartusek, Timothy Matson and Jeffrey Strom; Crime Prevention Officer James Stark; Detectives Theadore Herman, Benjamin Mortensen and Alan Harris; Patrolmen Albert Villarreal, Alan Schnaith, Rodney Davis, Robert Etheridge, Darren Grangruth, Patrick Dahl, Frank Cole, Darren Hanson, James Carlson, Lawrence Larson, Debra Flatness, Jesus Cantu, David Doppelhammer, Jay Crabtree, Darin Palmer, Jason Sage-Taylor, Andrew Johnson, Timothy Harves and Adam Conn.
“They’re a professional group of individuals that are dedicated to deliver the services that we’re called upon to deliver,” said Menning. Ill. Police Memorialize Fallen Comrades By Maya Tarter, The Peoria Journal Star (Peoria, Ill.)
Peoria, Ill. -- Nearly a year ago, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department lost one of its own in a car accident.
In accordance with National Police Week, the department honored Deputy James Mulay and others who have fallen in the line of duty as well as other deputies for their outstanding achievements.
“Right after last year’s banquet we lost Deputy Mulay. That gives this year’s (event) special meaning that strikes close to home,” said Sheriff Mike McCoy on Tuesday.
Mulay was killed after an alleged drunken driver broadsided his squad car May 19, 2003.
Mulay and other officers who lost their lives in the line of duty were memorialized with bagpipe music and a rifle salute.
McCoy recognized the ongoing work of officers in 2003 following the memorial ceremony.
Deputy Kevin Breitbarth’s dedication and work ethic were noted as he was named the Deputy of the Year at the annual awards banquet.
“You dedicate yourself completely to each call you take and this commitment is clearly seen in the thoroughness of each investigation you do,” McCoy wrote in a congratulatory letter to Breithbarth.
Correctional Superintendent William Smith was presented with the Correctional Officer of the Year award. Smith was commended by McCoy for “facing each assignment with an open, confident mind.”
“You have always gone from start to finish without taking any shortcuts,” McCoy said. “You are thorough and accurate and show tremendous pride in all aspects of your job.”
Sgts. April Cummings and Jack Jones and Deputy Martin Klatt received the Life Saving Award.
Distinguished Service awards went to Lt. Mark Greskoviak and deputies Max Becraft, Troy Burns, James Hajnal, David Hoyle, Patrick Kennedy, Douglas O’Neill, Jonathan Quast and David Wilson.
For leading the department in arrests of those driving under the influence, Deputy Brian
Asbell was given the Impaired Driving Enforcement Award.
Deputies Brian Groeper, Brock Lavin and Tyler McCoy led the department in felony drug arrests and each received the Felony Drug Enforcement Award.
In other police news, the East Peoria Police Department awarded the Dennis Roese Memorial Award to Officer Scot Craig at a special session of the East Peoria City Council on Tuesday.
National Police Week ends Saturday. Officers’ Sacrifice Remembered During Annual Service Police Heroes Honored By Christina Hall, Toledo Blade (Toledo, Ohio)
Toledo police Officer Shelli Kilburn said she believes Richard Sanchez intended to kill her during a struggle that turned fatal for the robbery suspect in East Toledo this year.
“I don’t see myself as a hero,” said the 35-year-old, nearly 11-year department veteran, who was shot two or three times in the legs by the suspect before he was killed by police.
Officer Kilburn yesterday received the Blue Star Award, which is given to an officer who has been killed or wounded in the line of duty. The award last was presented in 1993.
Officer Kilburn and Officer Scott Sterling, who came to her aid and fired shots at Sanchez, also received the Medal of Valor.
Three other colleagues involved in the Feb. 26 incident - Sgt. Edward Mohr, Officer
Thomas Corser, and Officer Brenda Sarahman, who was off duty at the time - received Meritorious Service Awards during a ceremony before the annual Toledo Area Police Memorial Service.
“You really don’t understand how quickly things happen until it happens,” said Officer Corser, a rookie who apprehended one of Sanchez’s two accomplices.
When he heard the shots, he ran to Officer Kilburn - whose gun became inoperable after she fired at Sanchez - and rode with her to the hospital. Sergeant Mohr, who was involved in the pursuit of the suspects, helped Officer Kilburn by applying pressure to her wounds.
“It felt like 30 to 40 minutes, but they said it took 30 to 40 seconds. There was a million things going through my head,” Officer Kilburn said, recalling the incident in which Sanchez said eight to 10 times that he would kill her.
Officer Kilburn said she has returned to work on light duty. As she continues to recover from her wounds, she faces an administrative investigation after she was cited in March for drunken driving and speeding in North Carolina.
Officer Kilburn wasn’t the only Toledo officer to receive the Blue Star and Medal of Valor awards yesterday. An undercover vice detective, whom police have declined to identify so as to not compromise his safety and investigations, received the awards in a separate ceremony.
Myron Campbell was shot to death Oct. 19 during a struggle with the detective, who police said saw him rob a North Toledo gas station. The man was fleeing when the officer saw him. The suspect hit the detective on the head with a knife and the officer’s handgun.
Campbell was shot five times and shocked twice with a TASER device before being subdued. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The six officers were just a few of many officers and civilians recognized yesterday. Sgt. Edward Mack was named Command Officer of the Year. Officer Frank Armstead was named Officer of the Year.
Sixty-two officers from the area who were killed in the line of duty were remembered during the memorial service.
“We owe them all a debt of gratitude. Their deaths caused pain for so many, but they did not die in vain,” Toledo Mayor Jack Ford said during the service in the Toledo Police Memorial Garden on the Civic Center Mall.
The crowd was silent as the name of each fallen officer was read followed by the tolling of a bell.
Boch, Toledo police’s drug dog for 8 1/2 years, also was remembered. The German shepherd died Feb. 22 from a systemic fungal disease, most likely contracted from the molds he encountered in the crack houses he searched.
Dozens of officers who went beyond the call of duty and citizens who helped police in a variety of cases were honored. Police Chief Mike Navarre also praised city and county emergency personnel for their response during the I-280 crane collapse on Feb. 16.
The awards and those receiving them were:
Certificates of Appreciation: Bambos Charalambous, William Rider, and the Rev. Ron Warnimont.
Meritorious Public Service Awards: Toledo Public Schools Security Officer William Weyandt, Rita Scherer, Dan Weishuhn, Allan Shiffler, Robert Warren, George Wagner, Toledo Firefighter Kevin Deck, Dennis Bugg, Ryan Shanly, Stephen Golaszewski, Carey and Dionne Fitzgerald, John Barnosky, Mike Young, Allen Rysz, police Chaplain Larry Vriezelaar, Mary Wolff, and Donnie and Rosemary Vires.
Letters of Recognition: Sgt. Phillip King and Officers David Mosiniak, Donald O’Brien, Leah Lewis, Michael Palicki, Douglas Przymierski, Donna Marshall, Robert Rogalski, Michael Ritson, and Detectives Douglas Allen and James Dec.
Meritorious Service Awards: Sgt. Edward Mack and Detectives Kermit Quinn and James Scott.
Distinguished Service Award: Deputy Chief Donald Kenney.
Professional Service Awards: Lt. James O’Bryant; Sgts. Deonn Bortel, Charles Humes, Edward Mohr, and Keefe Snyder; Officers Marlon Atkins, Joan Boose, Mary Cichocki, Robert Holland, Joleen Krohn, Sandy Lubinski, Gregory Mahlman, William Michalski, Donald Nachtrab, Michael Palicki, Kenneth Powell, Trisha Pritchett-Draper, Craig Smith, Timothy Smith, Charles Turner, and Scott Warwick; Detectives George Barber, Timothy Campbell, Charles Culpert, Jay Gast, William Goetz, Willie Johnson, Timothy Kaminski, William Seymour, and Blake Watkiss, and civilian employees Stacey Mitchell and Sandra Sutter, who are police communications operators.