|
|
About the CPS
Our Mission:
"To optimize public safety
in the City of Calgary"
2000 Chief's Awards
Awards were presented in the following categories:
The Award of Excellence
On September 30, 1999, members of the Calgary Police Service Homicide Unit travelled out of province to arrest and return a high-profile criminal suspect to Calgary to face numerous charges relating to a series of brutal sexual assaults and a murder. The arrest was the culmination of five years of intensive investigation by Detective Robin Greenwood.
After receiving the file in 1994, Detective Greenwood developed a detailed plan which he painstakingly executed over the course of the next five years. He spent many weekends at the office to complete tasks for the case, spent countless hours searching archives for evidence to support eventual charges, travelled out of town to link an original blood sample from a shooting to DNA evidence from each Calgary crime scene, met and maintained personal contact with victims, and accompanied each of them to a preliminary inquiry.
For his outstanding dedication and hard work, Detective Robin Greenwood was honoured with an Award of Excellence.
Sergeant Brian Whitelaw was honoured with an Award of Excellence for his tireless efforts during the past three years in the development of a new, values-based Applied Basic Curriculum for recruit training. Although a team effort, Sergeant Whitelaw was the driving force behind the ambitious project, recognizing the need to develop a learning system that addressed the core values of the Calgary Police Service.
When Sergeant Whitelaw was assigned to the Chief Crowfoot Learning Centre as a criminal law instructor in 1997, he identified a lack of written guidelines for instructors and proposed the centre develop a standardized curriculum. First, he researched many training styles used by other police services and recommended the CPS follow the values-based curriculum of the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council. Then he developed the overall structure, content and presentation techniques. Finally, he supervised the research and writing of the 2,000-page document, writing 60 per cent of the criminal law component himself.
For his dedication to developing the best recruit training curriculum, which has received extremely positive feedback from recruits and inquiries from other police services, Sergeant Brian Whitelaw was honoured with an Award of Excellence.
The Life Saving Award
On the evening of March 19, 1999, Constable Wayne Potter and his partner were called to an injury collision in northeast Calgary. On arriving they saw one of the two vehicles involved had crashed into a garage, had caught fire and had set the structure on fire. The occupants were trapped inside the car because both front doors were damaged and would not open.
While his partner and other arriving officers trained fire extinguishers on the car, Constable Potter opened the driver's side rear door and helped the male driver over the front seat and out of the car. Despite the increasing intensity of the flames, he went back and entered the car again through the driver's side rear door and helped the female passenger over the front seat and out of the car. The fire department arrived soon after and put out the fires.
Because of his quick and decisive actions and disregard for his own safety in rescuing the two victims, Constable Potter was honoured with a Life Saving Award.
During the early evening hours of August 8, 1999, two officers responded to a 9-1-1 call to assist paramedics after an elderly man collapsed on the beach at Arbour Lake. Constable Ron Kubicek and Constable Tom Page arrived first and, determining the man wasn't breathing, immediately began CPR; Kubicek performing mouth-to-mouth and Page performing chest compressions.
When paramedics arrived five minutes later, they assessed the man while the two officers continued CPR. They were relieved by firefighters about half an hour later. They then comforted family members, moving them away from the scene, and gathered valuable information about the man's medical condition.
Although the man died five hours later in hospital, Constable Kubicek and Constable Page were each honoured with a Life Saving Award for their compassion, quick thinking and heroic actions.
On the evening of August 24, 1999, four officers and a citizen dove repeatedly into 10 to 15 feet of water at Lake Sundance in an attempt to rescue an 18-year-old female who had disappeared below the surface. Several police units, firefighters and paramedics had responded to the call for assistance. On arrival, they heard a girl scream saying she thought she had felt a body. Sergeant Rob Williams and Constable Steve Vaney, Constable Mark Robson and Constable Ian Vernon removed only their gun belts, which another officer guarded, before jumping into the water.
Nearby resident Philip Sommerville, who witnessed the early moments of the incident from his home, had at the same time made his way to the scene and entered the water with the officers. Sommerville eventually recovered the victim, who was revived by EMS personnel and flown to hospital by STARS.
Although the young woman later died of her injuries, the four officers were each honoured with a Life Saving Award and Philip Sommerville is being honoured with an Award of Exceptional Recognition as their courageous and unselfish actions greatly increased the young woman's chances of survival.
Constable Brian Boechler was honoured with a Life Saving Award for his leadership and courage in assisting at the scene of a serious single vehicle collision and contributing to saving the life of the injured motorist. On February 24, 2000, Constable Boechler, a recruit at the time, came upon the scene at Deerfoot Trail and 64th Avenue N.E. while driving home. Identifying himself as a police officer and former paramedic, he retrieved an axe from a bystander and broke the passenger-side window to gain access inside the car, despite the imminent danger from leaking gasoline.
Upon gaining entry inside the car, Constable Boechler observed the driver's airway was closed and his skin was blue, so he administered a modified jaw thrust and the victim began breathing. Paramedics arrived shortly after and transported the victim to hospital.
On the morning of August 2, 2000, Sergeant Mike Lomore and Constable Shane Plamondon were dispatched to a house fire in the Lakeview district of southwest Calgary. A woman met them in the backyard and said she and her husband had woken up to find smoke throughout the house and had come outside. Her husband had gone back into the house with the garden hose. When the smoke kept getting thicker she'd called to him to come out, but he hadn't answered her.
The officers immediately followed the hose into the basement, found the victim unconscious beside the furnace and pulled him outside. Shortly after, the fire department arrived and extinguished the blaze. Paramedics also arrived and took the victim to hospital where he was treated for smoke inhalation.
Because they entered a smoke-filled house without regard for their own safety and with no protective equipment to rescue a man who otherwise would have suffered more serious injuries or death, Sergeant Mike Lomore and Constable Shane Plamondon were each honoured with a Life Saving Award.
The Community Policing Award
In mid-1998, Detective Lynne Cunningham took command of the Domestic Conflict Unit after having served in the Unit as an investigator. Since this time, Detective Cunningham has won the respect of everyone she has come in contact with - her staff, victims of domestic conflict, women's groups, the Crown Prosecutor's Office and other police departments. Many who have worked with Detective Cunningham single out her intelligence, compassion, leadership, integrity, professionalism and extraordinary dedication to the citizens of Calgary.
In addition to assuming a heavy workload when she took over the Unit, Detective Cunningham hired five new investigators and a civilian clerk in one year, helped develop a new data base, the Domestic Conflict Management System, worked with the Rainbow Society to complete a "soft" interview room, volunteered on countless external committees and boards, including the Action Committee Against Violence and the Calgary Working Justice Project, and participated in the Bethany Life Line Project and the Telus Mobility Cell Phone Project for women at risk of domestic violence.
In little more than two years, she has transformed an embryo Unit into a centre of excellence with a high profile and credibility both in the community and in the Service.
In recognition of her outstanding achievements, Detective Lynne Cunningham was honoured with a Community Policing Award.
Detective Frank Farkas, Sergeant Ed Yeomans and Constable Leah Barber were each honoured with a Community Policing Award for their outstanding work in developing the Community Group Conferencing project as a means of early intervention for young offenders under the age of 12. Under Canadian law, neither the police nor the courts have any tools for dealing with offenders within this age group.
The three officers performed an extraordinary volume of research before deciding to use an Australian program, Family Group Conferencing, as a model. The program brings together all parties affected by a youthful offender's actions to allow everyone to provide input on the behaviour and its ramifications. These parties include the victim, the offender, support or family members of both the victim and offender, and affected community members. Everyone present helps decide how the offender can best repair the harm caused by his or her actions. The goal was to change the offender's behaviour, to reduce the likelihood that the youth would commit future offences, and to have a positive impact on the social and moral values of young persons who have come into contact with the law.
Since the pilot project in 1998, Community Group Conferencing has changed the way the Calgary Police Service deals with youthful offenders, has reduced the likelihood that youths will commit future criminal offences, and has increased community satisfaction with the justice system.
The Leadership Award
Approximately one year after his posting to the Child Abuse Unit in early 1996, Detective Steven Patterson recognized problems surrounding the investigation into the death or serious injury of children due to Shaken Baby Syndrome. Detective Patterson identified that the collaboration required between medical staff, social workers and police for successful investigations and prosecutions was being hampered by a lack of coordination between the players. Recognizing that both medical staff and police had legitimate complaints about how these cases were being handled, Detective Patterson persuaded hospital staff and social workers to work with police to find a solution. The resulting comprehensive protocol has since been used with enormous success.
This success was recognized in June 1999 when Detective Patterson and Alberta Children's Hospital staff were invited to speak at the First Canadian Conference on Shaken Babies in Regina.
For his initiative and excellence in service to victims of child abuse, Detective Patterson was honoured with a Leadership Award. During the 1980s, then Constable Patterson received a Life Saving Award for using CPR to save a car accident victim's life who had been pronounced dead at the scene.
In the winter and spring of 1998 it was becoming increasingly obvious that the Victoria Park area was becoming a prime area for prostitutes and the drug industry underworld, causing area citizens to be concerned for their safety. In the summer of 1998 a Prostitution Study Team was formed consisting of Staff Sergeant Debbie Middleton-Hope, Staff Sergeant Paul Laventure and Staff Sergeant Blake McWilliam. The team defined four initiatives, including the training of 43 officers as 'Identify Sex Trade at the Street' officers, a needle safety project and education programs.
The three officers were each recognized with a Leadership Award for the significant positive impact this ongoing work has had on the citizens of Calgary, including a marked decrease in prostitution on the streets and the ongoing success of the needle disposal units.
The Award of Exceptional Recognition
During the early morning hours of July 19, 1999, Jonathon McCarroll noticed two men in his condo parking lot getting out of a car with their arms full of various items. He started his vehicle to startle them, and when they jumped into a different car and drove away he called 9-1-1 and followed them. After a short time the car suddenly stopped and McCarroll was able to stop his vehicle about seven metres behind it. Three men then exited the vehicle and walked toward McCarroll's vehicle; one carrying a baseball bat and another a machete. McCarroll quickly backed up and the three men returned to their vehicle and drove away.
He continued to follow them, constantly relaying their position to the 9-1-1 operator until police intercepted them.
For his quick thinking and his continuous communication with dispatch that directly led to three arrests, Jonathon McCarroll was honoured with an Award of Exceptional Recognition.
William and Judy Wood were walking home in the early morning hours of September 6, 1999, when they heard two men talking in their neighbour's garage. Realizing neither of them was their neighbour, William shut the large garage door and held it down while Judy ran to the front door to inform their neighbour, who called police. The two men forced the door open and ran down the alley.
Police, including a Canine Unit officer, arrived shortly thereafter and the dog tracked down one of the culprits. Police arrested him and recovered property stolen from the garage.
For their unselfish actions and assistance to police, William and Judy Wood were each honoured with an Award of Exceptional Recognition.
Douglas Austin was honoured with an Award of Exceptional Recognition for his role in stopping a sexual assault and for assisting police in identifying the culprit. During the early morning hours of December 18, 1999, Austin was driving southbound on Bonaventure Drive when he saw a man attempting to sexually assault a woman who had been forced to the ground. Austin stopped his car, got out and shouted at the culprit, who jumped up and ran away.
After following him briefly, Austin returned to check on the woman's condition. He called police and provided a detailed description of the man and his clothing. Police arrived shortly after and arrested the man close to the scene.
Trevor Sheppard was driving southbound on Crowchild Trail during the early morning hours of January 15, 2000, when the car in front of him was hit head on by a vehicle travelling northbound in the southbound lane. Sheppard called 9-1-1 on his cell phone and stopped to reassure the victim, who had serious injuries, that help was on the way. He told the other driver to stay in his car, but the man got out and walked away.
Maintaining contact with the 9-1-1 operator, and despite his inadequate clothing in the -25 C weather, Sheppard followed the man until police arrived.
For his courage, compassion and composure, which enabled police to arrest the man who might otherwise have escaped apprehension, Trevor Sheppard was honoured with an Award of Exceptional Recognition.
Bill Goode and Robert Reekie were in a donut shop on the evening of February 26, 2000, when a woman came in, pointed a knife at the clerk and demanded money. When Robert Reekie told her to put the knife down, she fled. He and Goode ran after her, caught her and held her until police arrived. They helped police retrace the woman's route to recover the hat, gloves, jacket and knife she'd discarded during the chase.
Two men also spotted a man who'd followed them briefly during the chase, and a police officer chased and arrested him.
For their assistance in capturing two offenders, leading police to solve eight other robberies, Bill Goode and Robert Reekie were each honoured with an Award of Exceptional Recognition.
|
|
|
|
