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Officer Crespo, Officer of the First Quarter

The Excellence in Law Enforcement Committee has selected Officer Crespo as the officer of the first quarter of 2000. Officer Crespo was nominated by his supervisor, Sergeant Elbert, and he was selected by the committee over several other very deserving officers.

Officer Crespo led the Criminal Investigations Unit in each of the first three months of the year, clearing a total of 44 cases. Some examples of these cases include: Tracking down and arresting a very evasive auto theft suspect. Clearing a very complicated sexual assault case involving three victims and three different crime scenes. Two male suspects were arrested for the assaults, and the victims were arrested for auto theft. Completing an outstanding investigation of an armed robbery. He was able to locate and document a near perfect shoe print of the suspect’s shoe, which was very crucial to the investigation.

Detective Crespo assisted the road patrol by drafting and serving a search warrant of a theft suspect with an extensive criminal record, including a homicide. Several stolen items were recovered. He also received a commendation for his assistance in the recovery of a stolen auto. He set up surveillance on a known stolen auto, and alerted the road patrol when the suspect entered the vehicle and drove off. The suspect was pursued by the road patrol and Officer Crespo assisted in cornering and arresting the suspect on the Bellevue Bridge.

Detective Crespo arrested a female subject after a physical altercation, during an investigation of neglect. He also received a commendation for his persistence in identifying an unknown infant and locating the mother of the infant.

Crespo gave a presentation to the Bellevue East High School Spanish class on the importance of being bilingual.

Honorable Mentions
2000 Officer of the First Quarter

Those officers receiving honorable mention were Officers Kessler, McDaniel, and Legband.

Officer Kessler was noted for her outstanding compassion and professionalism on two very difficult death cases. The first involved the suicide of a 17 year old girl and the second was the sudden death of a 12 yr old boy. In both cases, Officer Kessler not only assisted in investigating the cases, but was also instrumental in consoling and assisting the extremely distraught family members. She received a letter of praise from the Police Chaplain for her assistance.

Officer Kessler also conducted an excellent investigation on a sexual assault case. She first conducted a very detailed interview of the victim. She was then able to detain and interrogate the suspect, obtaining a partial confession, leading to his arrest. She completed the case by compiling a very detailed 16 page handwritten narrative which tied the case together.

Lastly, Officer Kessler spotted the occupied vehicle of suspects involved in a random shooting of an occupied residence. She was able to obtain a confession from one of the persons involved, which assisted in locating the weapon used and the arrest of the two suspects responsible.

Officer McDaniel was commended by his Shift Commander for his dedication and diligence during the investigation of an assault in which a shot was fired at the victim. The scene of this serious offence could not be located, due to darkness and the victim’s vague directions. Officer McDaniel returned to the area after his duty shift ended, and was able to locate not only the crime scene, but also some very valuable evidence.

Officer McDaniel also received two commendations for his assistance in conducting excellent investigations. The first involved a traffic stop in which it was determined that the occupants were using altered drivers licenses, as well as evidence of illegal drug use. This led to the recovery of a significant amount of packaged marijuana, a 9mm handgun and nearly $900 cash. The second case involved a shots-fired call in which a house had been struck. While investigating the scene, he could hear other shots being fired and pellets hitting the trees above him. He conducted a follow-up investigation and was able to identify and arrest the suspects responsible for the shootings.

Officer Legband received several letters of appreciation during this quarter, including one from the Mayor and one from the Branch Manager of US Bank for his assistance during a bank robbery investigation.

Officer Legband was also noted for his excellent attitude and assistance while helping out with the road patrol, even after being transferred to the investigations division.