Chandler Police Department Celebrates 2017 Award Recipients

The Chandler Police Department recognized the exceptional efforts of its employees during 2017 at its Annual Awards Ceremony.  Department employees gathered on the evening of March 20, 2018 to Celebrate Chandler’s Finest.

Congratulations to the following employees and units who were honored:

The Unit Citation award is presented to a Department team or unit whose actions exemplify the mission statement of the Chandler Police Department.  Eight Department units were presented with a Unit Citation award:

  • Honor Guard: Lieutenant Christopher Perez and Sergeants Michael Prendergast, Jeffrey Depodesta and Earlonzo Hogue and Officers Thomas Nemeth, Aaron Kimmel, Kevin Quinn, Scott Parr, Benjamin Meade, Adam Farrow, Brian Larison, Samuel Garday, Joshua Riley, James O’Neil, Victoria Flores, and Tyler Service
  • Fleet: Commander Bryan Cox, Lieutenant David Ramer, Police Operations Support Supervisor Kary Monteton, Police Fleet Aide Joseph Pelegrin, and Senior Police Communications Technician Jason Blaser
  • Field Operations: Police Operations Support Supervisor Susan Moore, Quartermaster Cathy Roeper, Police Administration Specialists Trish Arneson, Amanda Brown, and Sallie Edwards
  • Computer Crimes/ Forensics: Sergeant Thomas Lovejoy and Detectives William McDonald, Jason Hunsaker, Amy Hedges and Tami Gray.
  • Forensics – Latent Analysis: Forensic Scientist II Kathleen Keller-Brooke, Forensic Scientist III Kristen M. Rogers, Forensic Scientist III Kristy J. Swan, Contract Latent Print Examiner Ashley Wallace
  • Traffic: Lieutenant Scott Veach, Sergeants Daniel Stout, Michael Stewart, and Chad Ecalano, Officers Daniel McQuillin, Thomas Schuhrke, Jose Angulo, Zackary Bansner, John Allison, Eddie Cuthbertson, Bradley Carroll, Loren Reeves, Travis Miller, Jeremy Logan, Glen Robison, and Detectives Brandon Ynclan, Cameron Jacobs, Daryl Nyby and William Johnson, and Impound Hearing Specialist Cintya Dooley
  • Firearms Training: Sergeant Jason Barnes and Jerry Rollings, and Troy Messina
  • Crime Prevention: Sergeant Greg Howarth and Officers Daniel Chavarria, Robin Atwood and Tina Balsewicz, and Crime Prevention Specialist Blanca Quezada

The Meritorious Service award is presented to a member of the Department who consistently exceeds normal job requirements with at least one specific act of outstanding performance.  This may include a member proceeding with a pre-determined plan, program, investigation, or official act that exemplifies the mission statement of the Chandler Police Department.

The 2017 recipients of this award include Detective Bill Klapmeyer, Detective Ariel Werther, Detective Livi Kacic, Officer John Somerville, and Officer Irwin Wierzbicki

The Lifesaving Medal is presented to employees directly responsible for saving/ prolonging a human life (Extended by days or weeks).  A recipient may be any Department employee, on or off-duty.

Recipients for this award were Officers Juan Verdugo, Kyle Jordan, and Salvador Haro-Trujillo.

The Patrol Team of the Year award is presented to a patrol team that excelled in beat problem identification and solution, proactive actions, self-initiated activity, major case investigation and resolution, calls for service, and community service.  Team 12 is the 2017 Patrol Team of the Year.  This patrol team included; Sergeants David Pilkington and Hilton Drew and Officers Nicole Upshaw, Nathan Townsend, Benjamin Meade, Jonathan Urquidez, Darrin Vigesaa, Irwin Wierzbicki, and Earl Cowell.

The Civilian Supervisor of the Year Award is presented to a civilian supervisor for distinguished supervision and leadership in any assignment over a period of one year that is clearly exceptional in achieving departmental goals and objectives.

Communications Manager Michelle Potts is the 2017 Civilian Supervisor of the Year.

The Sworn Supervisor of the Year Award is presented to a sworn supervisor for distinguished supervision and leadership in any police assignment over a period of one year that is clearly exceptional in achieving departmental goals and objectives.

Sergeant Jason McClimans is the 2017 Sworn Supervisor of the Year.

The Employee of the Year award is presented to a civilian employee for outstanding performance over a period of one year in achieving department goals and objective through projects, programs, or situations requiring exceptional dedication.

Forensic Scientist III Kristy Swan is the 2017 Employee of the Year.

The Officer of the Year award is presented to an officer for distinguished service in any police assignment over a period of one year’s time that is clearly exceptional and places the recipient in a position above other members of the same rank.

Detective Matthew Blech is the 2017 Officer of the Year.