The Fort Morgan Police Department presented their awards for 2009 at the Fort Morgan City Council Meeting Tuesday evening, February 2.    The entire text of Chief Keith Kuretich’s remarks is included below.

Chief Keith Kuretich:

FMPD 2009 Awards Board Presentation

Good evening, and thank you Mayor McAlister and City Council for allowing us tonight to honor the accomplishments of members of the Department and our community partners for their outstanding efforts over the past year.

Every year it is an honor to represent the department … and I strive for the appropriate comment to make and every year there is none. There is no comment deep enough for the officers who every time they go on duty and who every day and every night are willing to give of themselves.  Or for Fort Morgan Citizens for acts such as following suspects until police arrived, calling the police to report suspicious activity, or in anyway assist in making our city safe and proud to be a citizen.

It is not only about sacrifice they made, but about the history of our police department.

Tonight’s Awards Ceremony honors those individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, service and professionalism in serving the citizens of Fort Morgan. We also recognize individuals and businesses who have demonstrated a commitment to serving Fort Morgan and assisting the Police Department in making Fort Morgan a safer place.

The FMPD awards board was developed through the Colorado Association of Chief’s of Police (CACP) professional standards through which the FMPD is accredited.

This year the awards board received 43 nominations for awards.  These include:

1            Employee of the Year
2            Distinguished Service Award – Life Saving
2          Distinguished Service Award – Medal of Valor
16          Citizen’s Citations for Meritorious Service
14          Letters of Commendation
5           Safe Driving Awards.
3           Certificates of Appreciation

CITIZEN’S CITATION FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE

This is an award to a private citizen or business for significant assistance rendered to the police department in achieving its mission.

Citizen Citation for Meritorious Service – Ashley Zamora, Valarie Laydon, Richard Ferguson, Kevin Kuretich, Brandon Kuretich.

Letters of Commendation – Sgt. Brian Cantin, Officers Joshua Kaber, Anthony Gagliano, and Cindy Brackett.

Nominated by: (Det. Sgt. Loren Sharp)

On August 8^th, 2009, an armed robbery occurred at the Family Dollar store in Fort Morgan, CO.  Thanks to the calm demeanors and quick actions of store employees Ashley Zamora and Valarie Layden, no employees or customers were hurt, and descriptions of the suspects and the vehicle were quickly relayed to dispatch.  The actions and information passed along to dispatch of witnesses Richard Ferguson, Kevin Kuretich, and Brandon Kuretich were also key in locating and apprehending the suspects.  Excellent teamwork was evident among Sergeant Cantin and Officers Joshua Kaber, Anthony Gagliano, and Cindy Brackett and as a result, the suspects were apprehended quickly, and the crime scenes were secured and appropriate notifications were made, all which led to a solid case against the suspects.

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Mr. Ron Jasso:  (OFFICER KEVIN MILLER) You have been nominated by Officer Kevin Miller to receive the Citizens Citation of Meritorious Service award.  On February 1^st, 2009, an assault occurred at the El Ranch Alegre restaurant.  One of the suspects ran from officers and Officer Miller pursued the suspect.  Mr. Jasso also pursued the suspect and when the suspect jumped a fence, Mr. Jasso did as well and was able to contact and detain the suspect until Officer Miller arrived to take the subject into custody.  Your assistance resulted in the apprehension of this assault suspect.

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Ms. Glenda Powell- (OFFICER JOSHUA  KABER) You were nominated by Officer Joshua Kaber to receive the Citizens Citation of Meritorious Service award.  On April 8, 2009 you were driving on Main Street in Fort Morgan and witnessed an elderly male subject lying face down in the middle of the road.  You stopped to check on him and called 911.  The subject was injured and was bleeding.  Despite this, you held his head still in case of a head injury and assisted the gentlemen until medical assistance arrived.

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Jorge Rico & Elisio Faz – (OFFICER ZEB SMEESTER) You have been nominated by Officer Zeb Smeester to receive the Citizens Citation of Meritorious Service award.  On January 15, 2009 you witnessed a vehicle exit WB I-76 at MM80 and come to a stop with the engine smoking.  The engine started on fire.  These gentlemen obtained a fire extinguisher from the Parks Department and ran to the vehicle, made sure that the adult female driver and her children were a safe distance from the vehicle.  At risk to themselves, they put out the fire in the engine.

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Art Caudle and Jeff Schwindt- (OFFICER CORK COOK) You have been nominated by Officer Cory Cook, and approved for the Citizens Citation of Meritorious Service award.  On November 20^th and 22^nd, these 2 gentlemen witnessed a 2 year old male child walking alone on the sidewalk.  Both of these gentlemen took the time to stop and keep the child safe until law enforcement arrived and the parents of the child could be located.

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Matthew Branon  and Amy Harris- (CEO ERIK COOK) You have been nominated by Code Enforcement Officer Erik Cook, and approved for the Citizens Citation of Meritorious Service award.  On February 16, 2009, Mr. Branon and Ms. Harris were in the area of West Street and Railroad Avenue and witnessed a pit bull that was running at large, attack a two dachshunds that were in their own yard. Regardless of their own safety, Mr. Branon and Ms. Harris ran into the yard and prevented the pit-bull from further injuring the second dachshund.  They also kept an eye on the pit bull until CEO Cook arrived to capture it.

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Wal-Mart, Miller’s Landscaping, and Murdoch’s – (CEO JOHN SIMPSON) You have been nominated by CEO John Simpson to receive the Citizens Citation of Meritorious Service award in appreciation of your donations of 4,605 pounds of pet food for animals in the care of the Fort Morgan Animal Shelter from January 1, 2009 – July 31, 2009.

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CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION- Fort Morgan Times, B106 and KFTM

Historically throughout the nation, the relationship between law enforcement and the news media has been fraught with conflict. Law enforcement agencies, in their efforts to safely and effectively investigate and prosecute violations of criminal laws, often try to preclude the news media from interfering in their endeavors. On the other hand, the news media can perform the valuable function of keeping the public informed.

This last past year we expanded on our cooperative relationship that has developed between our police department and the media that is epitomized in the region.

Each of these recipients is to be recognized for demonstrating continuing and unswerving dedication to making our community healthy, strong and safe.

The Fort Morgan TIMES provides a weekly Crime Bulletin highlighting crimes and information in the City.

Radio station KFTM provides a weekly news tip each Monday morning and B-106 interviews a police employee on its monthly Morgan Matters talk show.

All three also on a regular basis provides information, details about the offenses and suspects. They also provide some recent crime trends and strategies to reduce the likelihood of such occurring to individuals via crime prevention tips.

It’s our gratitude for all you’ve done – and continue to do – for reporting on public safety matters and sharing information to our community to make it a safe and healthy place to live, work, and play.

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SAFE DRIVING AWARDS

Safe driving awards are issued to employees who drive police department vehicles as a normal part of their duties and are not found to be the direct contributing cause of any traffic accidents.  These awards are given in 5-10-15-20-25 and 30 year increments.

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LETTER OF COMMENDATION:

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DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Department Members who have performed above and beyond what is normally expected are eligible for the Distinguished Service award. This is to be accomplished by the use of exemplary initiative rather than carrying out an assigned task. An act that resulted in or contributed to the saving of human life that involved no personal danger to the life of the recipient is also eligible for this award.

Life Saving Award: Sergeant Steve Brown and Officer Ted Thyne –

(Mr. and Mrs. Don Hladek) It is my distinct pleasure to inform you that you have been nominated to receive the Distinguished Service Award for Saving a Life, for your actions that contributed to saving a citizens life on October 10^th, 2009.

Officers Brown and Thyne responded to a call at a home on Cherry Street of a Core-O. Inside, they found a gentleman, who was suffering a heart attack and was unresponsive. They began CPR…… and continued for several minutes until fire and medical personnel arrived. Although other emergency personnel arrived and assisted, it was your arrival on scene first and your actions that led to saving a life.

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MEDAL OF VALOR

Department members who distinguish themselves by an act within the realm of duty which involves risk to the life of that department member.

Officers Dominick Lucero and Pedro Malave – It is my distinct pleasure to inform you that you have been nominated to receive the Distinguished Service Award, Medal of Valor.

On May 12, 2009 you responded to a fight in progress.  Upon arrival, you learned that one of the parties involved was in the backyard and was armed with a knife.  When you went to the backyard, the suspect charged Officer Lucero with the knife in his hand.  Officer Lucero deployed his taser at the suspect in order to keep himself from harm.  The suspect did fall to the ground but the knife was still under his body.  Officer Malave attempted to secure the knife when the suspect grabbed the knife again and attempted to swing it towards Officer Malave’s leg.  Officer Lucero again tased the suspect and other officers assisted with the apprehension of the suspect.  These two officers, when faced with the possibility of being injured, remained calm and performed their duties to the utmost of their ability, thus preventing injury to themselves, the suspect, and others around them.

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EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR – 2009

Employee of the year is selected annually by all members of the police department.

Police Clerk Stephanie Harman- has been nominated by her peers for the 2009 Employee of the year.

Stephanie began her career at the Fort Morgan Police Department in December of 2007.  Since her employment began, Stephanie has excelled as a member of our team.

Stephanie was nominated as Employee of the Year for her focus on assuring that the job is done right and her willingness to help everyone.  She has learned her position quickly.  She is quick and efficient about getting reports and entries into the CIS and other programs.  She focuses on correcting errors and makes sure the job is done right.  Stephanie communicates well with other staff and employees and treats everyone with respect and dignity.

Stephanie is always willing to help with extra projects.  She has assisted investigations with setting up a system to assure that sensitive narcotics reports are being completed effectively.  She has been working on revising the Clerk’s procedure manual to assure that procedures are easy to follow and are well organized.

Stephanie is a great asset to our department and we appreciate her and her hard work very much!

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Employee Awards Recognition Committee

I would like to give thanks to the Awards Committee who has the authority to review all recommendations throughout the year and determine the criteria and recommendations for the types of awards honored.

Lieutenant Darin Sagel

Sergeant Jim Parks

Officer Roger Doll

Police Clerk Mary Holt

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Conclusion:

I would like to thank all the 2009 Award Recipients and appreciate the opportunity to publicly thank them for going above and beyond the call of duty. To you all, thank you for assisting the Fort Morgan Police Department in the completion of our
Mission.

That concludes our program, a list of the 2009 award winners will be posted on our web site at www.cityoffortmorgan.com. I would like to thank all the 2009 Award recipients and ask that you step into the conference room behind us for photos.