2019 Dunwoody Police Achievement Awards

******For Immediate Release******

Incident:   Dunwoody Police Achievement Awards
Date:        February 3, 2020
Location:  Dunwoody, GA

The entire staff of the Dunwoody Police Department is committed to serving the citizens of Dunwoody throughout the year.  We appreciate the continued support of our community and know that without our community’s support, our job would be much more difficult. Once a year, we pause to recognize some of our highest achievers, those officers and civilian staff who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in service to our citizens.  It is important for us to recognize excellence amongst our staff.

 

“Our staff is dedicated to providing the highest level of service to the citizens in our community and our award recipients reflect that dedication.  Every call is important to us and every incident is a priority”, said Chief Billy Grogan. 

 

The Dunwoody Police Department recently recognized 11 members of the department and one volunteer for their outstanding achievements in 2019.  They were recognized as follows:

 

OFFICER OF THE YEAR 2019
Officer Kasey Martin (Officer of the 3rd Qrtr 2019)

On 08/01/2019 Officers Martin and Daley conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for a driver who was violating Georgia’s “hands free” cell phone law. As Officer Daley was speaking to the driver through the front driver-side window, the driver suddenly placed the vehicle in gear and drove away with Officer Daley attached. Quickly realizing that his fellow officer had just been carried away by the fleeing vehicle, Officer Martin ran back to his patrol vehicle, provided radio traffic for assistance, and began pursuing the driver. Officer Martin observed the fleeing vehicle rapidly accelerate, recklessly change lanes, and attempt to sideswipe other vehicles so Officer Daley would fall off. Moments later, Officer Daley was thrown from the fleeing vehicle and onto the pavement after the vehicle made contact with a panel van. Officer Martin continued the vehicle pursuit until the fleeing vehicle wrecked into several other vehicles on the interstate. The driver exited and fled up an embankment. Officer Martin gave chase and took the driver into custody. Due to Officer Martin’s presence (physically/mentally), decision making under stress, communication, and physical skills, the driver was able to be apprehended and charged with a long list of serious crimes.

 

EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR 2019
Police Service Representative Natasha Clark (Employee of the 3rd Qrtr 2019)

While Police Service Representative Clark has only been with the department a short time, during the 3rd quarter she demonstrated in many ways what the Dunwoody culture is about. PSR Clark has displayed teamwork on several occasions when providing last-minute coverage for the front desk and has even covered a couple of Day shifts. PSR Clark has impressed many supervisors with how she pays attention to the radio and listens for pertinent information. PSR Clark has been commended for working well with officers and can often anticipate what is needed, including the time she sent a copy of Dunwoody’s firework ordinance to a Sergeant after listening to the call he was out on. PSR Clark was of great help when she assisted one of our officers in locating the victim of a found wallet. PSR Clark has shown excellent displays of customer service, particularly when she helped console a woman who was grieving and in crisis outside of the police department. PSR Clark continues to represent the department well with her actions and has become a great addition to the PSR team.

 

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR 2019
Bailiff and Citizen on Patrol Ron Silvers

The 2019 Volunteer of the Year is a native of Miami Beach, Florida, although he has been a Dunwoody resident since 1977.  He holds a BS in Business Administration from Florida Southern College and a MS in Health Care Administration from Trinity University.  He spent over twenty-five years as a Hospital / Home Care Administrator and over nine years as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.  He has been a volunteer Dunwoody Municipal Court Bailiff since the court’s inception and is an original and active member of the Dunwoody Police Department’s Citizens on Patrol program.  During 2019, this volunteer dedicated a total of 316 hours of service to our City through these two volunteer programs, along with countless hours attending many other city- and department-sponsored events. 

 

RISING STAR OF THE YEAR 2019
Officer Dylan Cavin

The Rising Star award is presented to an officer that has less than two years of service with the Dunwoody Police Department and exemplifies outstanding qualities, characteristics, and effectiveness as a new officer with the department. 

 

MARKSMAN OF THE YEAR 2019
Detective Caleb Gilbert

Detective Gilbert had the highest firearms qualification score during the department’s Spring Firearms training.

 

TOP COP COMPETITION WINNER 2019
Sergeant Kerry Stallings

Top Cop is a multi-discipline competition which includes physical fitness, mental aptitude, and shooting drills. Sergeant Stallings had the fastest overall time during this competition in 2019.

 

MEDAL OF MERITORIOUS SERVICE – LIFE SAVING 2019

The Medal of Meritorious Service is awarded to an officer for outstanding performance during a lifesaving event. There were two recipients of this award for 2019.

 

Officer Kasey Martin and Officer Jordan Laverty 

On 05/06/19 at approximately 0914 hours, two officers were dispatched to medical call at a place of business in Dunwoody. The officers received information that the patient on scene had a seizure and that CPR was in progress. The first officer to arrive on scene found the company's AED attached to the patient and a co-worker doing chest compressions. The AED advised to stay clear, but no shock was advised. The first officer then began CPR on the patient until the AED advised to stay clear once again. At this time, AMR and DeKalb Fire personnel arrived and took over care of the patient. The second officer on scene was with the paramedics and took over CPR from the paramedic to ensure good chest compressions were being delivered. A short time later, the patient was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital where she eventually recovered.

 

EMPLOYEE OF THE 1ST QUARTER 2019
Police Service Representative Lori Rivera

During the first quarter of 2019, Police Service Representative Rivera demonstrated her ability to be a team player while assisting - sometimes last minute - with coverage at the front desk. PSR Rivera has excelled in her productivity and quality of work.  There have been several occasions when she has completed multiple warrant entries with no errors in one night and completed over 60 GCIC warrant validations in just a few short weeks with little to no assistance and without error. PSR Rivera demonstrated a talent for attention to detail.  After being given the task of assisting with warrant validations, she demonstrated excellent skills in time management. Lastly, she did an excellent job researching the status of an inmate and communicated with multiple agencies to ensure we knew where the inmate was located and if the inmate’s warrants should still be valid. Her efforts in this area and detailed documentation of the matter were greatly appreciated and saved countless hours of work time for her supervisors and peers.

 

OFFICER OF THE 1ST QUARTER 2019
Slade Mehas

Officer Slade Mehas distinguished himself during the first quarter of 2019 with his continued productivity, quality of work, attention to detail and outstanding professionalism.  Officer Mehas made 35 arrests between January and March.  In March alone, Officer Mehas made 19 arrests; 18 of which were self-initiated.  During the first quarter, Officer Mehas made 4 DUI arrests and 11 drug related arrests. In regards to detail, Officer Mehas received recognition on several occasions for investigating incidents far beyond the initial call or traffic stop.  During these investigations, Officer Mehas discovered further crimes and collected additional information that was vital towards ongoing investigations and several Wanted people.  Officer Mehas has proven himself to be a consummate professional. In one incident, a citizen commended him publically on Facebook, stating that due to all the negative opinions of law enforcement, he did not know what to expect when he came into contact with Officer Mehas during a vehicle accident; however, because Officer Mehas treated him with respect and professionalism, it changed this civilian’s opinion of police officers.

 

EMPLOYEE OF THE 2ND QUARTER 2019

Police Service Representative Diane Sanford

Police Service Representative Sanford recently worked at the Georgia Law Enforcement Explorer Academy (GLEEA) during the second quarter as an Explorer Advisor. She played a significant role in the success of the academy, mentoring the explorers and encouraging them to push their boundaries towards growth. She worked well with all of the participants of the academy to ensure its success. PSR Sanford also contributed greatly towards the training of our newest PSR, Natasha Clark, and did an exceptional job helping Natasha prepare for that role.  PSR Clark is now on her own and doing an exceptional job. PSR Sanford sets a daily example for us all when it comes to her consistency and willingness to help others without seeking reward or recognition. She has truly demonstrated a number of our core values to include: Service, Integrity, Professionalism and Teamwork.

 

OFFICER OF THE 2nd QUARTER 2019
Jordan Laverty

During the second quarter, Officer Laverty was directly responsible for providing life-saving measures on two separate occasions. The first occasion was on 05/06/19 when he responded to a medical call. He discovered a female down on the ground and immediately performed CPR. The patient left the scene in critical condition, but later made a full recovery at the hospital. The second occasion was on 05/24/19 while working a call for service involving an active fire. Officer Laverty observed a male walking down the sidewalk who collapsed. The patient ultimately survived after undergoing emergency surgery. Through both of these life-saving incidents, Officer Laverty has demonstrated several of our key core values of Service, Courage, and Teamwork.

 

EMPLOYEE OF THE 4TH QUARTER 2019
Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police Liz Stell

The Chief’s Executive Assistant, Liz Stell, has made great efforts over this past quarter assisting in the planning and organizing of several community outreach events, to include Truck or Treat, Coffee with a COP, and Christmas for Kids. Time and time again, Liz goes above and beyond while setting up projects for employee functions such as our Thanksgiving Potluck, Rock Your Ugly Sweater, and our upcoming DPD Awards Banquet. She also took on the huge task of planning and scheduling our recent staff portraits. Liz has stayed late on many occasions to ensure all her projects are completed and perfected. She has worked well over this past quarter with the Assistant City Manager to ensure all employees have safe and functional workspaces. Liz also showed great initiative and thoughtfulness when she promoted and arranged the shipment of a Military Care Package to an officer over the holidays; who is currently deployed overseas. This idea was a great morale booster for the officer. Liz also demonstrated her attention to detail when she asked the right questions and gathered important specifics regarding how to properly process an incoming grant. Her efforts in this area will make it easier for future grants to be processed more efficiently. It is clear that no matter what she is tasked with, Liz always puts her “all” into it and remains a dedicated employee who prides herself in her teamwork.

 

OFFICER OF THE 4th QUARTER 2019
Jesus Maldonado

Detective Maldonado coordinated efforts for the Dunwoody Police Department to participate in our second Retail Blitz for the City of Dunwoody in partnership with private loss prevention staff. On December 10th and 12th, the Dunwoody Police Department along with twenty-four local retailers conducted Operation Nightmare Before Christmas. As a result of this joint effort, 27 arrests were made during the two day period (28 misdemeanors and 2 felony charges with $8,237 in recovered merchandise). This operation utilized traditional surveillance and modern technology to accomplish a unified mission. This operation has strengthened the lines of communication among retailers and law enforcement, which are being utilized daily to enhance services that the Dunwoody Police Department provides its citizens and business partners. Detective Maldonado has shared his experience with several agencies who have adopted the operation for use in their own jurisdictions. In addition, Detective Maldonado has been attending Georgia Tech PMP classes as he pursues higher education and has maintained a 4.0 GPA.

 

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