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Officer Elbert, 1997 Officer of the Year

Officer Elbert was selected as the 1998 Officer of the Year because of his high quantity and quality of work, his splendid teaching abilities, excellent attitude, and professional appearance.

Officer Elbert is an extremely hard working officer. During the year, he made 77 Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) arrests. This was double the number of arrests of the next highest officer on the shift, and he ranked first or second in the department for such arrests. He led his team each month in the number of contacts that he made, and yet he never was the subject of any citizen complaints. This is because he is friendly and fair in all of his interactions with the public.

Elbert has a great attitude about his work. He never complains and gives 110% no matter what. Officer Elbert is in superb physical condition and always projects a very positive, professional image. He is a great example to other officers. The following are some of his professional accomplishments this past year.

In January, Officer Elbert was selected and trained as a Field Training Officer.

In February, while on patrol, Officer Elbert detected and stopped a vehicle that had been involved in a possible kidnapping. Elbert recovered a weapon from the vehicle and arrested the three occupants for false imprisonment. On a different call in February, Officer Elbert ran down and captured a suspect who had fled on foot from a crime scene. He also received a commendation for assistance that he provided at a DWI training class.

In March, Officer Elbert ran down three curfew violators who had fled from him on foot.

In May, during one shift, Officer Elbert made two DWI arrests, a Driving Under Suspension (DUS) arrest, and a drug arrest on four separate, self-initiated contacts. This was an example of his high initiative and skill in traffic enforcement.

In June, Officer Elbert completed an excellent, extensive follow-up of a routine criminal mischief case that resulted in the confiscation of several BB guns and the arrest of six juveniles.

In August, Officer Elbert completed a report for a theft victim who then decided that she did not want to pursue charges against the suspect. Officer Elbert followed through on the case anyway and found out that the suspect involved had an active felony warrant. Elbert then located and arrested the suspect.

In September, while investigating a person on a traffic stop that was reported to be carrying a concealed weapon, Officer Elbert found a VCR in the suspect’s truck that had been taken in an earlier burglary to one of the schools in town. Also in September, Elbert received a thank you letter from a district fire chief for his assistance to rescue staff. Elbert had restrained a group of very intoxicated people who were interfering with the rescue workers on their call.

In November, Officer Elbert completed training to be a Drug Recognition Expert and received his certification. This is a very technical and difficult course that enables an officer to detect drivers who are impaired due to drugs rather than alcohol.