Home > Awards > Officer of the Quarter > 2010 > Bees, 2010 Fourth Quarter

Officer Bees, Officer of the Fourth Quarter

The Excellence in Law Enforcement Committee has selected Officer Bees as Officer of the 4th Quarter. Officer Bees had demonstrated performance above and beyond that, which is routinely expected. Specifically Bees' outstanding work resulted in arrests and convictions in two sexual assault cases involving children.

On 10/05/10, Lt Stukenholtz received two emails which were sent to him by members of the Sarpy County Attorneys Office. The first email detailed the efforts of Det. Bees on a First Degree Sexual Assault and two counts of Incest case. This was a case about a ten year old developmentally delayed girl who was being sexually assaulted by her stepfather. The incidents were horrific, which involved asphyxiation, burning the victim with cigarettes, and various forced acts of sex. This occurred regularly, repeatedly, until the victim was 13, at which time she was able to tell her story.

Det Bees was able to interview the suspect, which was described by the attorney as "textbook." Even the defense attorney conceded that it was a good interrogation. As a result, the suspect admitted to many of the allegations made by the victim. His admissions were "minimizing", but condemning. The Dep. County Attorney stated "It made the difference between putting this child through the ordeal of a deposition and trial and getting a great plea." The suspect pled to First Degree Sexual Assault and two counts of Incest.

During the investigations, the County Attorneys Office made numerous requests of Det Bees regarding additional information, interviews, and photos. He was always responsive and diligent in pursuing them. On his day off, Bees went to see the suspect get sentenced 40-50 yrs on count 1 and 20 years on count 2 and 3 each. Det. Bees did not just do his job. He played an instrumental part in getting this repulsive person out of our community. What he did was provide hope for the victim and change her life.

The second email also praised Det Bees for his work in the child abuse cases he has prosecuted. Specifically, in a case where a biological father sexually assaulted his 5 year old daughter. At the beginning of the investigation, the only evidence involved a single statement from the girl. The County Attorneys Office worked weekly with the victim and her parents to get her to effectively communicate what had been done to her without success. Det Bees was then able to provide additional information from a second victim of the suspect from several years earlier. This led Det Bees to question additional witnesses, take additional statements, and further investigate the suspect and the allegations of additional victims. As a result, the investigation led to additional charges and two new cases which provided enough leverage to force the suspect into pleading to Incest and Sexual Contact with a Minor.

The victims' families passed on to the County Attorneys Office how much they appreciated the work Det. Bees did and his professionalism in dealing with delicate and sensitive topics of this nature. Without his efforts, the case surely would have went to trial on the original charges, with a victim probably unable to testify, possibly allowing the suspect to remain free. Other officers have expressed their thanks in the way Det. Bees has performed his duties, going out of his way to assist them in calls no matter the time of day, and for his positive attitude. For his efforts, he is hereby awarded Officer of the 4th Quarter 2010.

Honorable Mention

For the 4th Quarter in 2010, two officers have been selected to receive Honorable Mention, Officers Melrose and Officer Flohrschutz.

On December 5th, 2010, Ofc Melrose was dispatched along with Ofc Pilmaier, to an address for a male party threatening suicide. Upon Ofc Melrose's arrival, he was greeted by a distraught female who stated her husband was in the garage and threatening to hang himself if anybody went in there. Ofc Melrose then proceeded to the garage area, where using his flashlight, he was able to look into the garage and observed a male party on a ladder with a metal cord wrapped around his neck. Upon seeing Ofc Melrose, the male party began screaming that he would step off the ladder if Ofc Melrose entered the garage. Ofc Melrose then entered the garage as the male party stepped off the ladder and began to hang himself. Ofc Melrose then ran around a parked vehicle and grabbed the male party and lifted him up to stop him from being strangled. He was able to hold him there until Ofc Pilmaier was able to arrive and remove the vise grips which were holding the metal cord tight.

The male party was then transported to the hospital to receive treatment for his injuries. Due to his actions he is awarded Honorable Mention, 4th Quarter.

The second Officer selected for Honorable Mention is Ofc Flohrschutz. Ofc Flohrschutz was recognized for numerous items in the 4th Quarter. He was commended by his Commanding Officer for the work he did on a juvenile runaway case. Ofc Flohrschutz was dispatched to a house to take a report of a juvenile runaway. Upon investigating the case, he uncovered a situation where teenagers were obtaining over-the-counter medications and abusing them as an intoxicant. His interviews with the runaway and other juveniles revealed them to be stealing the cold medicine from an area retailer. The use of the medicines had caused the runaway to overdose on them at least three times in the past two weeks alone. Ofc Flohrschutz took it upon himself to go to the retailer and explain the situation to them. He persuaded them to move the cold medicine from the aisle shelving and to place it behind the drug counter and out of casual reach.

Ofc Flohrschutz was also recognized for his work in the area of D.U.I. enforcement. Ofc Flohrschutz dedicates himself to making the streets of Bellevue safer from impaired motorists. He ended the year with 41 arrests of drunk drivers. He was also noted for his work with the Preliminary Breath Test devices used by the department and conducted a study on their effectiveness. He then compared them with the results of other departments in an attempt to validate their effectiveness. He did this on his own, with no prodding from other officers or his supervisors. His research showed disparities in the results of the PBT by the department.

For his efforts, he is awarded Honorable Mention, 4th Quarter.