Badge & Gun: May 2011

Police Week begins with the Special Awards Ceremony at the Aquarium

BY TOM KENNEDY

The program began at 10 a.m. in the third floor meeting room with the reading of the Police Week proclamation by Mayor Annise Parker. The mayor was a first-hand participant throughout the program.

"The presentation of these awards always draws a big crowd that almost always consists of the families of the honorees," Lumpkin said. "This ceremony is one of HPD's high points of the year and recognizes ‘the finest of Houston's finest" in both the commissioned and civilian sides of the fence."  

According to tradition, there will be other events during Police Week. They include:

 

• Ministers Against Crime and the Police and Clergy Team will hold a Day of Prayer at 10 a.m., on Wednesday, May 18 at the HPD Administration Building, 1200 Travis. This event will be attended by Houston area clergy members to reinforce the partnership that exists between the community and our department.

 

• The Annual Memorial Service will be held on Friday, May 20, at 7 p.m., at the Houston Police Officers Memorial site to honor those 111 officers who have given their lives in the line of duty. The Procession down Memorial Drive will begin at 7 p.m. and the candlelight vigil will include the placing of a wreath on the Memorial, a roll call of deceased officers, a 21-gun salute, the playing of TAPS and a fly-over by HPD helicopters.

 

• The Houston Police Training Academy, located at 17,000 Aldine Westfield, will be conducting free tours of the facility. Theses tours will begin with an orientation at 9:45 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m., Monday, May 16, through Friday, May 20. Tours must be pre-scheduled via e-mail at HPDMuseum@cityofhouston.net and must include the approximate number of attendees, grade(s), contact person, and school district information.

For information regarding the Day of Prayer News Conference, contact, Lieutenant Mattie Provost at (713) 308-9064 or Senior Police Officer Barry Curtis at (713) 775-1857

For information regarding the Memorial Service, contact Sergeant Lawrence Jaskolka in the Honor Guard office at (713) 247-5826

For information regarding Academy tours contact Officer James Chapman at (281) 230-2353

For information regarding the Police Week Awards, contact Shelly Molina, Awards Coordinator, at (713) 308-3245.

Here are this year's nominees under their respective categories with the honorees in bold face:

Manager                                                              

Captain David Gott                                             

Captain Milton Martin                                         

Captain Ceaser Moore

 

Mid-Manager                                                     

Lieutenant Patricia Cantu

Lieutenant Joseph Levingston                             

Lieutenant Craig Williams

 

Investigative Supervisor

Sergeant Elias Cisneros                                        

Sergeant Darrell DeFee                                        

Sergeant Frank Quinn

 

Tactical Officer

Officer Marc Delacerda                                             

Officer Diego Morelli

 

Senior Police Officer

Officer Roland Benavides

Officer Carl Rodriguez

Officer Carl Sanders

 

Field Training Officer

Officer Joseph Gamaldi

Officer Timothy Haase

Officer Danny Hicks

 

Patrol Officer                                                           

Officer Ruben Estrada                                         

Officer Timothy Goemans          (Two Honorees)

Officer Adam Linton                                           

Officer Christopher Solorio

 

DRT/CSO

Officer Robert Curl Jr. (posthumously)               

Officer Jose Herrera                                             

Officer Ryan Watson

 

Technical Support Employee

Sr. ID Officer J'Marcus Adams                          

Officer John Johnson

 

Reactive Investigator

Officer Eric Carr                                                  

Officer Francis Heenan Jr.                                   

Officer Millard Waters II

 

Specialized Officer

Sergeant Lawrence Jaskolka

Officer Daniel Schwarzbach

Sergeant Leslie Wills

 

Undercover Investigator

Officer Bradley Craig                                          

Officer Kimberly Jacobs

 

Civilian Protective Services Employee

Jail Attendant La Verne Bostic Jr.

Jail Attendant Dorothea Ford

Sr. Police Telecommunicator Tonica Weathers

 

Civilian Manager

Division Manager Sheryal Armstrong

Police Administrator Sheila Duncan

Comm. Technical Supervisor Donald Gould

 

Civilian Supervisor                                            

Sr. Community Liaison Courtney Fontenot

Office Supervisor Carolyn Hoskin

Office Supervisor Andrea Reyes

 

Patrol Supervisor

Sergeant Kenneth Bounds

Sergeant Teresa Curry

Sergeant Patrick Plourde

 

Admin Classified Employee

Sergeant Michael Muench                                         

Sergeant Louis Oviedo

Officer James Sobota

 

Civilian Administrative/Para Professional

Sr. Office Assistant Joanne Mullins

Data Entry Operator Cher Sooy

Admin. Aide Belinda Torres

 

CIT Officer

Officer Robert Belknap

Officer Alfonso Escobedo Jr.

Officer Adrian Lopez

 

Lifetime Achievement Award                           

Sergeant James Doss

Captain Craig Goralski

Mgt. Analyst IV Jamal Khalil

Officer Gregory Sokoloski

Deputy Director Craig Ferrell (Legal Division)

 

Instructor

Officer Joseph Degidio

Sergeant Brian Harris

Sergeant David Houston

 

Civilian Technical Employee

Web Production Asst. Johnny Garza

Sr. Comm. Specialist Marcelino Juarez

Inspector Donna Lambert

 

Proactive Investigator

Officer Todd Janke

Officer Steven Rowan

 

Civilian Skilled Service Employee

Sr. Aircraft Mechanic Steven Childress

Truck Driver Albert Orosco

 

Civilian Professional Employee

Admin. Specialist Yolanda Castillo

Admin. Specialist Rhonda Holmes-Conner

Admin. Specialist Araceli Molina