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Officers Page and M Brazda, Officers of the First Quarter

The Excellence in Law Enforcement Committee, for the first time, selected two Officers of the Quarter for the First Quarter, 2005. The committee was deadlocked on two candidates and after much discussion decided unanimously to select both as Officer of the Quarter. The two officers selected were Officer Page and Officer M Brazda.

Officer Page was nominated by his supervisor and was selected by the committee for his quick actions on March 14th during a fire at the Chateau Apartment Complex. Officer Page spotted the fire while on routine patrol. After notifying dispatch to contact the fire department, Officer Page entered the smoke filled building and began evacuating residents. Officer Page’s discovery of the fire and quick actions immediately after, very possibly prevented serious injury or death from occurring to any of the approximately 60 residents.

Officer M Brazda was nominated by his supervisor and selected by the committee for several reasons. On March 4th, Officer Brazda worked nearly 24 hours straight on a case involving a possible child homicide. Brazda worked with the Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) and the crime lab until the case was resolved and proven unfounded.

On March 6th, Officer Brazda assisted the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) with an on-going surveillance operation. Brazda made a high risk stop of the suspect in the case, who was uncooperative and potentially violent. The suspect was arrested for possession of heroin. Brazda was commended by other officers at the scene for his tactics and the way he handled the situation.

On March 19th, Officer Brazda worked a child abuse case involving an infant with a broken arm and leg. Officer Brazda conducted extensive interviews with the family and doctors and was eventually able to determine that the biological father had caused the injury. The father was arrested for felony child abuse. Officer Brazda then completed an extremely detailed report on the very complicated case.

Officer Brazda was also noted by committee members for his on-going recruitment of confidential informants (CIs) and his steady flow of drug related information and contacts provided to the SIU.

Honorable Mentions
2005 Officer of the First Quarter

Those officers receiving honorable mention were Officers Franks and Bees.

These officers were noted for their part in the Chateau Apartment Fire. Officer Franks for assisting in the rescue of a young child from a balcony, and Officer Bees for breaking down a door and helping a handicapped person to safety. Officer Bees was also recognized for his work in tracking down a attempted car thief during a snow storm and for his investigation and arrest of a stolen vehicle suspect.