Home > Awards > Officer of the Quarter > 2007 > M Brazda, 2007 Third Quarter

Officer M Brazda, Officer of the Third Quarter

The Excellence in Law Enforcement Committee selected Officer M Brazda as Officer of the Third Quarter of 2007. Officer Brazda demonstrated performance above and beyond that which is routinely expected. Sergeant Kurt Stroeher nominated Brazda. Here are just a few examples of Officer Brazda’s performance.

Officer Brazda transferred to A team in June. His Spanish speaking abilities allow him to investigate crimes involving Hispanic victims and suspects much more thoroughly than non-Spanish speaking officers. He has been used in this capacity repeatedly by his teammates, other department staff, and occasionally neighboring departments.

On July 6th, Officer Brazda stopped a car operated by a Hispanic male driver for having expired in-transit decals. The man presented Officer Brazda with a very authentic looking fake ID. Officer Brazda correctly sensed that something was wrong and investigated for several hours. He eventually was able to learn the man’s correct identity and arrested him for 1st Degree Forgery, False Reporting, Abuse of Public Records, Driving under Suspension and Expired In-Transits.

On July 18th, Sarpy County Deputy Attorney Beth Beninato contacted the police department to express her sincere appreciation and gratitude to Officer Brazda for coming in to court on a day off with almost no advance notice. His testimony made it possible for the prosecution to gain a conviction in a difficult domestic violence case.

On July 31st, Officer Brazda was one of the first officers on the scene of a fatal residential fire at 2846 Kansas Drive. He tried in vain to enter the apartment, despite the extremely high temperatures and thick toxic smoke, to rescue the victims but could not. He then stayed on scene to assist other officers with the investigation, which took the remainder of the day.

During this quarter, Officer Brazda contacted a suspicious person and asked for permission to search his vehicle. Permission was granted and a small amount of methamphetamine was located. The man was arrested and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) detectives were contacted immediately. Officer Brazda had already established a rapport with the suspect and had determined that he was willing to assist the Special Investigations Unit in narcotics cases. SIU subsequently worked with this suspect to make numerous purchases of large quantities of methamphetamine. None of this would have been possible without the initial observation of suspicious activity, the heads-up request to search and the rapport he developed with the suspect.

Honorable Mentions
2007 Officer of the Third Quarter

Those officers receiving honorable mention were Officers Miller, Grubb, Bartley, Hoffman and Stuck.

The following officers received honorable mentions for the Officer of the Third Quarter:

Officers Miller and Grubb: Officer Miller was patrolling a residential neighborhood when he observed a parked vehicle with its flashers on. He checked the vehicle and found that a stereo had been ripped from the dash of the car. Miller contacted the owner. Officer Grubb arrived, checked the area, and detained three suspects on foot. One had three screw drivers in his pocket. Miller questioned all three separately and obtained admissions that one of them had stolen the stereo. It was recovered from a nearby storm drain. That young man was arrested. Miller was commended for the aggressive patrol of his assigned district. Officer Grubb was commended for his observation skills.

Officer Bartley: A man was robbed at knife point in the parking lot of Baker’s Supermarket. A description of the suspect’s car was broadcast. Officer Bartley was on a K9 training day, but proceeded to FCRN and Chandler to watch for the vehicle. He saw it and pulled it over, but the car then fled north into Omaha. OPD's Police Helicopter "Able 1" was alerted and was able to track the car until it crashed in Omaha. The suspect was apprehended, and the victim’s wallet and money were recovered. Officer Bartley was commended for his dedication to duty and initiative.

Officer Hoffman: Officer Hoffman was dispatched to a call of trespassers at Gilbert Pool. He approached on his mountain bike and heard voices coming from within the building, along with noises of persons rummaging through items and knocking things over. As he waited for back-up, he heard the suspects at the fence. Officer Hoffman confronted one teenager who had the cash drawer in his hand, and took him into custody. Three others got away. The building had been damaged, and cash and property had been taken. Officer Hoffman tracked the other three down over the course of the next few days, gained confessions from all of them, and issued tickets for burglary to all four juveniles, along with obstructing to the three who ran. Officer Hoffman was commended for his use of the patrol bike and his interview skills.

Officer Stuck: During the third quarter, Officer Stuck was contacted by Officer Brazda. Officer Brazda had identified a person willing to cooperate in ongoing drug investigations. The person was signed up as a cooperating individual and Officer Stuck organized several controlled deliveries resulting in the seizure of firearms and a large amount of methamphetamine. During the third quarter Stuck continued to man gage the informant keeping him/her on task and organizing several more controlled substances resulting in the several search warrants, drug seizures and arrest.